RWBY: The Brother from Earth
by chrisreader13
Summary: A Boy wakes up in Remnant as a dreaded O.C.! But all is not how it seems as the world shifts and changes to find a place for him. How will he feel when he is suddenly related to a certain Scythe wielding girl and her family? Early on OC x Blake. OC x Weiss later. (Romance may change depending on direction story takes.)
1. Chapter 1

_I apologize that Chapter One isn't that good. It really gets better as it goes though, I promise._

 _ **Chapter One**_

 _ **Welcome to fucking Remnant**_

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK FUCK! FU-"

Oh why am I cussing? Oh I only just woke up in the middle of Emerald Forest in FUCKING RWBY!?

How do I know this? Well lets go back a little shall we?

 _ **Back a little bit shall we?**_

I woke up sore, as one does when they've slept on the ground. I stood up, only to realize, as I said, I had been sleeping on the ground. NOT my bed. I also noticed that I was in the middle of a forest.

 _'The fuck? How did I get here?'_

My gaze flew around the small clearing I had found myself in before my gaze rested on a black ADIDAS backpack, exactly where I had just been sleeping. Slightly curious, I opened the bag and shuffled through it's contents.

 _'My Laptop? How did it get here? Let's see, what else... laptop charger, bottle of water, flashlight and..._

…

"IS THAT A FUCKING SAWED-OFF SHOTGUN!? THE FUCK!"

And yep. I was staring at a fucking sawed-off shotgun. It was about 14 inches in length and was colored pitch black. The handle, while the same color, was textured so it would be easier to grip. I grabbed it, taking care to avoid putting my finger on the trigger. Unfortunately, just as I had the gun pulled out of the backpack, my finger slipped and I accidentally flipped a switch that rested on the guns side. I screeched and dropped the gun as it began to fold out change in front of my eyes into a fucking short sword.

As a short sword, the weapon was about 20 inches in length. The weapon, blade included, was still pitch black and the handle was still textured as to make gripping it easier. The switch from before, rested at the very bottom of the sword. Well out of the way as to prevent accidental weapon morphing.

 _'What the fuck is going on!?'_

I reach to pick up the fallen blade but I stop and realize for the first time...

 _'Why the fuck am I wearing fingerless gloves? I don't even OWN fingerless gloves! Oh holy fucking hell! WHAT THE FUCK AM I WEARING!?'_

Looking down at myself, I saw an outfit I definitely did not fucking recognize. I was dressed in bright red long sleeved shirt, black pants, a black belt with a buckle the shape of demon head and black combat boots. Over all this, I was dressed in a black version of what I could only call Dante's coat from 'Devil May Cry'. This was not what caused my mini- freakout however...

"Holy shit did I lose weight!? Where did these muscles come from!? AND ARE THOSE PISTOLES!?"

Indeed. I was no longer skinny as a rail, was armed with multiple weapons and looked like a fucking Dante rip-off. Despite my growing confusion and agitation, I drew both pistols and almost wanted to sigh.

 _'They look exactly like Ebony and Ivory, what a fucking surprise...'_

Placing the pistols back in their holsters. I noticed a sheathe type thing connected to the left side of my belt.

 _'This fucking sheathe thing is for the fucking shot-blade isn't it? What the hell is going on? How did I get here? Who dressed me up as a Dante lookalike? Why do I have deadly ass morphing ass weapons? Also, why the fuck backpack? Honestly if I didn't know better, I'd think I was in the middle of some crappy fan fiction.'_

…

 _'Let's just, grab the backpack and see where the fuck I am shall we? Save the bullshit horrifying thoughts for later.'_

After zipping it closed, I put on the black backpack, placed the Shot-Blade in its sheathe and set off in some random direction. I walk for several minutes, possibly for about fifteen or so, before I start to feel pissed. The more I walked, the more pissed I got. Every step was awarded with the sight of more trees, twigs and the occasional broken tree branch. Eventually, I finally spotted a clearing and rushed out only to find...

That I was at the bottom of an extremely smooth cliff. No fucking way was I climbing that. I stand there in seething anger for several moments before a sound pierces my ear.

" **GRR..."**

I turn around slowly, a strong sense of fear grips my heart and I do not know why. All I know is whatever just growled was inhuman. It didn't sound like a fucking animal either. Finally turning fully, I am greeted by the sight of a fucking Ursa.

How did you know it was an Ursa? Don't ask stupid fucking questions. An Ursa is pretty fucking distinctive. Anyway, this leads me to my current predicament.

 _ **The Fucking Present**_

"-CK! FUCK! FUCK! FUUUUCK!"

In response to my long list of fucks, the Ursa snarls before charging straight at me. It swats at me with its right claw and I try to dodge. But you know, fuck me right? I'm hit dead on and flung into a nearby tree. I groan in pain before standing up. Wait...

 _'At the speed and force I was just hit with, logically I should be dead! Or at the very least have a few broken bones or bruises! Does... does this mean I have fucking Aura?'_

More growling fills the air as the rest of the Ursa's...Ursa?...Ursai? What the fuck ever- joins it in the clearing. Ten of them, including the first one that I encountered. They seem to be lead by the largest one, that's probably the Alpha.

 _'If this is what I think it is and I AM in some shitty RWBY fic. Then this would turn into a fight that shows my skills and gets Ozpin's attention and most likely gets me into Beacon. But how can I be sure-'_

…

 _'Is that a fucking camera drone?'_

…

 _'Oh my god it is!'_

Flying just above the is some sort of metallic flying object, connected to said object was a video camera.

I am pulled out of my thoughts when a nearby Ursa tries to strike me and I surprise myself by back-flipping directly onto a fucking tree limb.

"Oh my god! That was fucking awesome!"

 _'I'm guessing if I can do that, then I already know how to fight here for some reason. Some fanfic bullshit I guess...'_

I feel myself smirk as I look at the camera toting drone. _'Ozpin you better be fucking watching, cause I'm about to give you one hell of a show!'_

Ignoring the angry growls, snarls and roars of the Ursa below me. Ursai below me? Ursa's below me? What the fuck is Ursa plural? I took off and unzipped the backpack and, while hanging it off a higher branch by it's strap, pulled out my Laptop and opened it.

 _'Half Battery. Good. I can work with that.'_

I eventually made it to my laptops music section and smirked as I picked the song I wanted. I turned the volume to its loudest setting before placing the laptop on the safest, largest spot on the tree branch. The forest was soon filled with the opening guitar rifts of 'Welcome to the Jungle' by Guns and Roses and I smirked as the Ursa grew silent. I jumped from my position on the tree and landed directly in front of the Ursa who had tried to strike me earlier. I smirked again and realized I had the best opportunity for a one-liner.

"Welcome to the Jungle bitches!"

…

 _'Eh, gotta work on that. I think I made myself cringe.'_

As if on cue, the Ursai all roared and charged, the one closest to me swiping for my torso. Flipping over its strike, I landed on its head before drawing _Ebony_ and _Ivory_ and shooting into its skull repeatedly. The Ursa roared in pain and I jumped off as it fell over dead.

 _'One down. Nine to go.'_

Holstering E _bony_ and _Ivory_ , I pulled my Shot-blade from its sheathe and prepared for the charging Ursai. Soon I was jumping over several slashing claws and snarling teeth and I switched my Shot-blade into its shotgun form. I fire twice, the bullets exploding upon impact. Leaving two Ursa headless; much to my surprise.

"HOLY SHIT! THATS A TAD BIT EXESSIVE!", I shout as I land once again on the forest floor.

 _'Seven to go.'_

Switching the shot-blade back into a short sword. I scream as I charge directly into the remaining pack of Ursa. I slash and avoid constantly. Dodging as I hack at limbs and decapitate when given the opportunity. I kill about three this way before the Ursai increase their ferocity. I get the feeling I'm pissing them off and I doubt I can duck and weave forever, so I back flip away.

 _'Four to go! You better be fucking watching Ozpin!'_

I sheathe my shot-blade again before pulling out _Ebony_ and _Ivory_. _'I wonder how many I can kill with this before they get their shit together?'_ I fire at the remaining Ursai and soon, I am dodging and weaving through slashing claws. I laugh as I avoid attacks and continue to fire into my enemy killing all but one in the process. _'Why is this so much fun!?'_

Eventually, the Alpha gets in a damn good hit in and I go flying into the cliff wall. I slide down in a way that's almost comical, before standing as I groan in pain.

" _ **You know where you are? You're in the Jungle baby! You're gonna die!"**_

 _'Oh shit! That part of the song already? I need to hurry this up if I want to look good for Ozpin.'_

I holster _Ebony_ and _Ivory_ before drawing my blade. I sprint directly for the Alpha, who slashes in response. Anticipating this, I roll under the slash before jumping towards the Alpha's face. I stab my blade directly into its eye and it dies instantly, with no time to even roar in pain. The Ursa falls and I fall with it, holding the handle of my sword still lodged in it's eye. The song ends just as the Ursa and I make contact with the ground. The area grows silent and I look up and see that my laptop hasn't played the next song.

 _'Good, its set to pause at the end. That would have totally killed the mood otherwise.'_

I pull my blade out of the Alpha's eye and place it within its sheathe, then I jump up to the tree limb that held my laptop. Closing it, I placed it back into my backpack then put on said pack. I jumped back down to the ground, then looked up towards the flying camera holding drone.

 _'Now's a good time to ask for a ride. Should I ask straight up? Be a bit demanding about it? Ooh... maybe I should just call him Ozpin and then ask for a ride? No... On second thought, I've read fics where Ozpin got scary towards O.C.'s that knew more than they should...'_

…

 _'Oh. My. God. I'm an O.C. aren't I? Son of a Bitch!'_

…

 _'I did awfully well fighting those Ursa... You listening God? I better not be some OP shit! If I really am in a fan fiction, I would rather readers not hate me!'_

…

 _'Also no Gary-Stu stuff!'_

…

 _'I should probably shout at that drone now._

"Hey! Whosoever behind that camera! Could you send a flying thing? Or otherwise get help? I have no idea where I'm going!"

The moment I finished speaking, the drone suddenly flew away. _'I choose to believe that means I'm about to have help.'_

...

 _'Oh fucking hell, I'm probably going to meet Blake! That's either gonna be really amazing or really bad._ _Oh! And Ruby! I am so gonna beg for her to let me use Crescent Rose! And Yang! Oh I am so looking forward to the puns! If I'm lucky Weiss won't hate me too much... Oh and Team JNPR! Ooh, Velvet and Coco too! So. Much. Fanboying!'_

…

 _'Oh shit! What am I gonna call myself? If this is really a fic, no way in hell am I using my real name... And I know what YOUR trying to do, but I refuse to use the name Dante. Or Nero... In fact all Devil May Cry names are off limits. Maybe something with a sense of Irony?_ _Salem maybe?_

…

 _'On second thought, I would rather not cause Ozpin to shoot me..._ _I like the movie labyrinth! Let's see... Jareth? No..Hoggle? Hell no... What was the main characters_ _brothers_ _name again? Oh yeah, Toby!_

 _..._

 _Yeah I like the sound of that! Toby what though... Something connected to a main character? No. Don't want to have to pretend I'm related..._ _Hmm... I've been obsessed with Death Note lately... so... Toby Yagami? No that's fucking terrible. Toby Lawliet?'_

…

 _'Toby Lawliet... I like it. Toby Lawliet. Now I need a name for my Shot-blade, cause I fucking refuse to call it that any longer... Let's see, sticking with the Death Note theme... Heh... I know exactly what I'm fucking calling it... Kira.'_

…

 _'Okay, so let's summarize. Name is Toby Lawliet. Shot-blade is called Kira. Pistols called Ebony and Ivory. Awesome! Look out Salem! Here comes Toby Lawliet!'_

…

 _'Oh my god Salem! I never watched the series! I just read fanfics! I have no idea what moves Cinder and her are going to make! All I can remember is I think Pyrrha dies in Volume 3._

…

 _'AHH! Pyrr_ _ha_ _dies! What the fuck am I gonna do to prevent that! Everything I read never passed Volume 2!_ _What should I do!? Wait... Why am I in a RWBY fic? I can't remember this shit! I'd be much more competent in a show I'd actually watched!'_

…

 _'That's why you picked me isn't it? O.C. from "our world" that has no idea what's in store for him? That's your gimmick isn't it? Fuck you so hard right now!'_

Now a lot more unsure about this whole thing, I jump back up onto the tree I used to hold my laptop earlier and, after hooking my backpack in the same place as last time, lied down, resting my head up against the tree trunk. All the sudden, I'm exhausted and finding it hard to keep my eye's open.

 _'I hope I didn't just show off for no reason, in fact I hope I wake up to Ozpin showing up in a... What were they called? Bullhead's?'_

And with that thought, I finally give in and I close my eyes.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

I was awoken by an unfamiliar sound. Groaning as I turned my head, I was greeted with the sight of a Bullhead. _'I'm getting good at guessing this shit. I wonder if I'm just that good and can read cliches... or if the person behind this shitty fic just thought this was easier...'_ The Bull head touches down in the dead center of the clearing, giving it ample room to avoid the cliff and many trees of Emerald Forest. Soon afterwords, a door on the Bullhead slides open and someone steps out holding a signature mug of coffee.

Motherfucking Ozpin.

Grabbing my backpack I rub the sleep from my eyes and, after checking if I had all my weapons, I slid off the tree and back onto the forest floor. This action gains the attention of Ozpin and he watches me as I walk towards him, taking great care to keep my hands where he can see them. I know Ozpin can be one scary motherfucker. As I get closer and we make eye contact, I see Ozpin's eye twinkle with something... Curiosity? Glee? Fuck if I know. But if that's how he reacted to my eyes...

 _'Okay Author, I better not have the eyes of a Grimm you hear me? There are to many fucking fanfic's like that and I would like to at least be somewhat likable!'_

Finally stopping before Ozpin, he gives me kind smile yet I can see the gears turning in his head. "Good Afternoon young man. You put on quite a show for the security drones."

 _'Okay, time to channel my inner Ozpin whisperer.'_

I try to give Ozpin a cocky smile. "I try. And to be fair, I wasn't even sure someone was watching on the other end of that thing."

Ozpin sips his coffee. "I can assure you, we were watching. And I for one am very impressed with what I have seen." _'We? Oh, he's probably talking about Glynda.'_ Ozpin continues. "Where did you learn to fight like that at your age?"

 _'At my age? Oh my god... Really fanfic? Did you make me Ruby's age? I just wanted to meet the main cast but no.. The only reason I can think of for you making me Ruby's age is if you wanted me to date either her or someone else. Well you know what? No. I choose to be 16. No way in hell am I dating Ruby.'_

…

 _'Blake on the other hand... No! Bad brain! Bad!'_

…

 _'Also, how am I gonna answer his question? I don't think I can lie to Ozpin to his face... Maybe a half-truth?'_

I smile sheepishly. "Believe it or not I have no idea. I don't remember fighting anything before I woke up here."

Ozpin's gaze becomes thoughtful and then he asks a question that sends up danger flags.

"Is your family aware of your whereabouts?"

 _'Oh shit. Didn't think this far ahead. What should I say? Wait... my family..._

…

 _'Is not here... I'm alone aren't I?_

…

 _'No! Must hold in sadness. Need excuse now. Will cry later.'_

Despite my saying so, I am unable to keep the emotion out of my voice. "I'm not sure if they're even still alive..."

Ozpin's face becomes sympathetic but I can still see those damn gears turning in his head. "Where do you live?"

 _'I have an idea. I can play the amnesia card. I had to think up my own identity and since I have no I.D. on my person, that most likely means by fan fiction logic, I did not exist here until just awhile ago. So I play up the amnesia angle, all the while saying that I have no past to find. Less suspicious if I'm up front about it.'_

I sigh. "I can assure you I don't have a home anywhere on Remnant." _'Not technically a lie.'_ "And I should point out that I can't remember anything beyond last week. I swear it's as if I just popped into existence one day! No I.D., no familiar faces nothing!", I ranted. What? I may be lying but I gotta sell it. "And then I just, wake up. In the middle of the forest wearing this." I gesture to my Dante-like clothes. "And I just magically know how to fight!"

Ozpin takes another sip of his coffee and I continue under his calculating stare. "Hell! The only thing I do know. Is the name of my weapons! The pistols are called _Ebony_ and _Ivory_ andthe shotgun, sword thing is called _Kira_. Other then that, I only know my name."

I shift my face from anger into a small smile and outstretch my hand for a handshake. "My name is Toby Lawliet and I have amnesia. Sorry if it seems odd to mention it again but people tend to forget."

Ozpin chuckles and shakes my hand. "You may call me Ozpin. I am the Headmaster at Beacon Academy." Withdrawing his hand, Ozpin gives me a thoughtful, if kind look. "Am I correct in assuming you have nowhere to go?"

I nod once, I think I'm actually sad right now. I've never not had a home before.

"Then I have a proposition for you. But first, would you like to join me in the Bullhead? I believe the pilot wishes to be home."

I laugh and follow Ozpin onto the Bullhead. And soon, we take off and as we fly through the air towards our destination, most likely Beacon, my fear of heights decides to kick in.

"Are you well? You look a bit pale."

I nodded hesitantly. "Y-yeah. I just remembered I have a fear of heights."

Ozpin hums in response before speaking again. "Do you know of Beacon Academy?"

I shook my head no. _'Wow I am so fucking lying.'_

"Beacon is a school, that trains its students how to defend the world against Grimm. As I mentioned before, I am the Headmaster. So when the drone caught sight of your battle, I was notified immediately." Ozpin takes another sip of his coffee. "I am not opposed to last minute additions to our school and I believe it is beneficial to always keep an eye out for those with... particular talents." Ozpin shifts in his seat before he looks directly into my eyes. "Here is my proposition. I want you to attend Beacon and in return, I will provide you a place to sleep, eat and perhaps even give you a place to begin searching for your past. If you pass the initiation of course."

 _'Oh my god I've finally made it! Fucking yes! I'm gonna meet RWBY and JNPR!'_

…

 _'And this better not be one of those fics that change the teams or make me replace a member! I ain't down with that shit!'_

I pretend to look thoughtful before I finally smile. "I would be honored."

Ozpin takes another sip of his coffee before he gives me another smile. "In that case Mr. Lawliet, I shall arrange for you to stay at a hotel in Vale. Three days from now, I will send for someone to bring you to Beacon."

"Just one question?"

Ozpin seems surprised. "Yes Mr. Lawliet?"

"What is the plural of Ursa? Is it Ursa, Ursa's or Ursai?"

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Ozpin dropped me off on the room a some hotel and I was escorted by one of the hotel staff, who had been waiting on the roof I might add, to what was going to be my room for the next few days. So now here I was, and god was I ready for a shower. I toss my boots off near the bed, before I drop my backpack on the bed. I then take off my clothes and toss them into the dirty clothes hamper. I might not have anything else to change into but... hell I ain't wearing dirty clothes. Heading into the bathroom, I see my reflection for the first time since coming here.

…

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!"

Every part of my body was different, heck I honestly looked like a teenage Dante with black hair that had reddish tips on the end. But that isn't what caused my outburst. Remember how Ozpin got all interested after seeing my eyes and I told the person writing this damn thing not to make them Grimm-like?

Well he or she listened too fucking well, here I was staring into my new eyes.

My silver eyes...

 _'Okay motherfucker... I just have several things to say... One is fuck you. Two, there better not be a reveal that I'm related to Ruby or Summer somehow. That ain't gonna fucking fly! Three and this one is big. Remember how I said that I wanted people to like me? Well now you just did one of the biggest cliches possible. Anyone who read this for any reason is probably clicking off and leaving by now. Fucking idiot.'_

…

 _'On second thought. Go ahead and make me related to Ruby and Summer somehow. Just don't fuck up the canon too much. If I'm gonna be stuck in a cliche ridden fanfic, I may as well. I mean I did say I didn't want to date Ruby, being related would be a sure fire way to prevent that. Oh and that would technically make me related to Yang, Taiyong and Qrow by extension right? Maybe?'_

…

 _'Heck, here I am talking about this shit and I don't even have any assurances that that's what you're planning on doing. I could be related to Cinder for all I know...'_

…

 _'God I hope I'm not related to Cinder.'_

My mini freakout now over, I move into the hotel shower. A hot shower sounds nice...

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

 _'You better not have written about me in there. I would rather not have a detailed account of me cleaning myself out for public viewing, especially since I feel like a stranger in the wrong body...'_

Heading back into the hotels main room, In am surprised to see my clothes already clean and folded on the bed. _'Holy shit, Remnant washing machines are better than Earth ones apparently!_ _Or were they cleaned by a semblance?'_ I feel myself snicker. _'What kind crappy semblance would that be?! Fear me Grimm! For I am Toby the Washing Machine!'_

Dressing myself back into the shirt and pants, I yawn and stretch. This action is soon followed by me collapsing on the bed, back first. Staring at the ceiling, my thoughts run free and I am once again presented with a single thought.

 _'I'm in the world of RWBY... And my family is nowhere to be found...'_

…

 _'Hey writer? Am I dead back home? Does my family know I'm gone? Do they miss me?'_

…

 _'I guess I really didn't expect a response...'_

…

 _'Mom? Sis? Grandma? Matt? If you four are reading this, just know that I'm okay and I miss you already. I would say that I'm extremely sad but... I'm not. I'm sad I may never see you again sure, but I never felt like I belonged back home. I hated it honestly... So I'm gonna do my damnedest to create a life here. I promise, I will try to become a man you can all be proud of... Even if I am 16 again... I'll just consider it a fresh start.'_

…

 _'And hey Author? I don't know what kind of tale your spinning, but please give it a happy ending. Hell, even if you don't, I'll fucking MAKE it a happy ending...'_

Just before I shut my eyes and prepared to sleep, one last thought needed to be free.

 _'Mom? Sis? Grandma? Matt? I love you guys. Goodbye...'_

 _ **Chapter One End**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

 _ **Beacon**_

Today was the day...

Three days had passed and, as promised by one Professor Ozpin, I was picked up in a limo by an extremely rude guy with a chip on his shoulder. The drive didn't take long and I soon arrived at the airport. Flipping off the jackass driver and saying thanks, I headed towards the large airship designated for Beacon Academy.

Once again I was dressed in my Dante-esque clothing. The black cloak flowed as I walked and I felt the still somewhat unfamiliar presence of _Ebony_ , _Ivory_ , and _Kira_ on my person. Along with this, I carried my backpack, filled with my laptop, laptop charger and flashlight. The only remaining things from my old life, the bottle of water drunken on day two of hotel stay-cation. Is drunken a word? Whatever, the point is I drank the fucking water okay?

Entering the airship, I feel a sense of... Happiness? Excitement? Apprehension? Perhaps all these things. I stop suddenly causing a faunus boy to bump into me. I apologize before I move out of the way, this seems to surprise the boy and he seems confused if grateful. Little did I know my actions had caught the attention of a certain amber eyed faunus.

I stared around the airship in awe as I made my way to a to a random seat in the far left of the large room and sit down. _'I cannot fucking believe I'm really here! I mean shit, how many people can say that I woke up in an alternate universe!? Practically nobody!'_

…

 _'Unless all self-insert and "O.C." from our world stories are true somehow...'_

…

 _'I think I may have just had a small mental crises for a second.'_

As I slide once again into my nasty habit of talking to myself plus the non-existent readers and the singular writer, I am surprised when I feel the airship begin to move and take off. I grip the seat roughly and fight back a small whimper. I fucking HATE flying!

 _'Author please take pity on me and give me something to take my mind off the fact that I am airborne and could theoretically die at anytime.'_

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"

…

 _'That'll work. Thanks author, you're the best.'_

I stand up from my chosen spot and head closer to who I know is Yang and Ruby. I stand nearby, but pretend to look out the window.

"Please stop...", I hear Ruby wheeze out. _'Yang honey crush any harder and she'll die. Then where would we be?'_

"But I'm so proud of you!"

Ruby sounds solemn. "Really Sis, it was nothing."

"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon's gonna think you're the bee's knees." _'Okay, who the fuck even says bee's knees?'_

Ruby seems distressed, though not overly so. "I don't want to be the "bee's knees", okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."

"What's with you? Aren't you exited? _'Yes I am Yang. And yes I know that wasn't directed towards me.'_

"Of course I'm exited... I just...", I hear Ruby sigh. _'Time to make my move.'_ "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything."

I place my backpack down on the floor before turning and walking towards them with my hands in my coat pockets. _'Sorry Yang but I'm about to steal and alter your line.'_

"You must be special though.", I say and both girls look at me in surprise. "If you got moved ahead two years to attend Beacon then there must be a reason. Ozpin ain't no fool."

Yang smiles and pulls Ruby into a one-armed hug. "See! You are special,"

Ruby still seems uncomfortable and I feel a need to help her calm. "If it makes you feel any better, you aren't the only one here who's here under different circumstances."

My eyes meet Ruby's hopeful gaze. _'Is she really that worried of being considered special.'_

"I'm 16 and I've never even been to combat school."

If anything Ruby seems relieved and Yang gives me a surprised look. "Really? How'd ya make it into Beacon?"

I gave Yang a wide smile. "I impressed Ozpin. I also may have been a bit of a badass. But that is neither here nor there!"

Yang laughed and Ruby seemed curious. "How did you do it?" _'What be a badass?'_ "Impress Ozpin I mean." _'Oh.'_

"Killed a pack of Ursa, about ten of 'em.", I said proudly. _'Ursa's? Ursai? Damn, why couldn't Ozpin have answered my question?_

Ruby's eyes seem to sparkle. "Wow!"

Our conversation stops and we draw our attention to a loud hologram/TV thing that just now seemed to have started to play the news.

 _'Wait... Did you delay the network broadcast and lengthen the flight just so I could talk to Ruby and Yang? You are awesome.'_

" **The robbery was lead by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa."**

" **Thank you Cyrill. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony."**

The news continues as memories, of racial tensions from Earth, come to mind and I murmur a quote to myself sadly. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Once again, I was unaware of the faunus that had heard me.

The news feed is cut out suddenly and a holographic image of Glynda Goodwitch replaces it.

" **Hello, and welcome to Beacon."**

"Who's that?", I hear Yang ask.

" **My name is Glynda Goodwitch."**

"Oh."

" **You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious Academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace,-"**

 _'That is bullshit. Salem, Cinder, the White Fang... This is so full of shit.'_

The hologram disappears and several students seem in awe of the view. _'I guess we're close to Beacon.'_

I see Ruby rush to the window and she puts one hand on the glass as she looks outside. "Oh wow! You can see Signal from up here!", Ruby's tone grows quieter. "I guess home isn't too far after all.

Yang moves over to her sister before placing a comforting arm on Ruby's shoulder. "Beacon's our home now."

I hear a retching sound to my left and I remember Jaune and his airsickness. Deciding I wanted no part of that, I retrieved my backpack and moved further into the airship. Now that I'm no longer distracted, I feel my unease of flight returning and I move quickly towards one of the seats.

Then I stop...

Sitting alone in one of the airships many seats, is Blake Belladonna. Her eyes darting across the page of the book she is reading. The book? " _The Hobbit"_ by J.R.R. Tolkien.

 _'Huh... Glad to see that still exists here.'_

…

 _'Wait... did you give her a book I know by heart on purpose? If so, I don't know whether to thank you or yell at you.'_

Nervously, I move over towards Blake and I stop once I reach my destination. "Excuse me, may I sit here?"

Blake seems surprised but gives me a small smile and nods. As I sit down, she goes back to reading her book. _'Okay. Please let the details of the book be the same here...'_

"Which part of the plot are you on?"

Blake looks at me shocked before she responds. "Bilbo is about to engage in a game of riddles."

A line from the _"Lord of the Rings"_ comes to mind and I smile. "Riddles in the Dark. I think that scene is one of the most memorable of the entire book."

I think I'm holding a record for "longest time you kept Blake surprised" because the shocked look doesn't leave her face. _'Do people in Remnant not read that much or something?'_

"I'm surprised. It's rare to find a huntsman-in-training that will read a work of fiction. When did you come by it?"

 _'Great. Now I have to fake amnesia and say I read it last week at some point.'_

"Last week actually. I was looking around and stumbled into one of Vale's public libraries, found that book and started reading. I came back every so often when I wasn't busy for the next few day's till I finished it. Do you like it?"

Blake nodded with a smile on her face. "It's a wonderful book. I'm looking forward to finishing it."

 _'Okay writer, I've decided to thank you. Not only am I having a rather pleasant conversation with my biggest fan-crush ever, but we're talking about a book I happen to fucking love!'_

I give her a smile before I stand and put on my backpack, before I leave I bow to her in a theatrical manner. "My name is Toby Lawliet. May I ask yours?"

Blake seems amused by my theatrical display and I see her bow twitch. _'Ah, there go the cat ears.'_

"Blake Belladonna.", she says with a smile and nod.

I give her a big goofy grin and give her a two finger mock salute. "Well Blake, I'll let you get back to your book. It was nice to meet you and I hope we meet again!"

"It was nice to meet you as well.", she says with a smile. She returns to her book and I go to rejoin Ruby and Yang.

 _'God my heart is beating a mile a minute...'_

As I join the two sisters, I see that we are about to land. Deciding that it was too late to start another conversation, I instead head for the exits.

 _'Hey writer? Thanks for keeping me busy on this trip. I don't wanna know what nickname I would have gotten from Yang if I was like Jaune over there. So really, thanks.'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

I'm one of the first ones off the airship, the other being Jaune who ran for a trash can to vomit in, and I only walk a small amount before I'm stopped by the sight in front of me.

Beacon...

 _'Mom... Sis... Can you see me? I made it... Now I just have to pass initiation... I can do it. I know I can!'_

I am pulled out of my thoughts by the sound, and vibration, of an explosion. _'Wait... an explosion?'_

…

 _'Oh fuckberries I forgot about Ruby and Weiss!'_

I turn and run to the source of the explosion, just a ways behind me, back at where the airship landed. Just as I arrive at the source of the explosion, I am as expected, greeted by the sight of an embarrassed and terrified Ruby and an extremely pissed off Weiss.

"I'm really, _really_ sorry!"

"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even _doing_ here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon? This isn't like ordinary combat school you know! It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!"

 _'Wait, this scene is wrong... Weiss looks way more angry... and Ruby looks like she's about to cry...'_

I watch as Weiss continues to yell at Ruby, who for some reason isn't standing up for herself like she should. As time passes, Ruby starts to shake and it looks like she's about to break down.

…

 _'Alright, I've had just about enough!'_

"Yo, back off! She said she was sorry, so leave her alone.", I said as I approached, stopping only once I had placed myself between Weiss and Ruby.

Weiss gives me a look of disgust before she speaks in a haughty tone. "I am simply stating the dangers of attending Beacon and warning her of the dangers of improper Dust handling!"

I glare at the heiress before I speak as calmly as possible. "Be that as it may. You have made your point a little too well."

Weiss face turns to one of confusion. "What ever are you talking about?"

"Stop ranting for ten seconds and just fucking look at her!", I practically growl.

Weiss seems surprised by my language but does what I say. When she sees Ruby, now a shaking mess fighting back tears, her face softens and I see her face take on a look of regret.

"I... admit I may have been too harsh. I apologize for my behavior."

 _'Okay what the fuck. Blake isn't showing up, this whole scene is different... Author I hope you know what your doing...'_

Ruby seems to be calming down and I sigh. "Look, let's just go our separate ways for now and hopefully we can start over later. How does that sound?

Weiss looks at Ruby before she smiles sadly. "I believe that is acceptable. Good-bye for now."

"Bye."

As Weiss begins to leave, Ruby speaks quietly. "I really am sorry. I'll make it up to you."

Weiss gives the young girl a friendly smile and nod before she finally leaves.

 _'You just changed the entire dynamic between Weiss and Ruby in one scene. What the hell are you planning?_

…

 _'Also, if you change something and make Ruby cry again, I WILL find a way to kick your ass.'_

Ruby sighs before collapsing on her back. "Welcome to Beacon...", she says sadly.

I crouch down next to her. "Don't get discouraged just yet little red. I'm sure everything will get better from now on."

Ruby smiles widely and she looks at me. "Thank you for standing up to me, that girl was scary!"

 _'Thank god she's happy again'_

"I don't she meant to scare you that bad. I think she might just be dealin' with stuff we don't understand." I smile before holding my hand out to her. "My name is Toby Lawliet."

Ruby quickly shakes my hand from her position on the ground and she speaks excitedly. "I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose!"

Soon after we finish shaking hands, she does an awesome flip from the floor to a standing position and she moves back and forth on the balls of her feet while keeping her hands behind her back. "So... I've got this thing..."

The next thing I now, I am forced to jump back because Ruby pulled a folded "Crescent Rose"

from its place on her back and activated it. Damn thing almost cleaved me in two. _'Oh yeah, Ruby has mentioned in episodes that she sucks at meeting people.'_

"This is my scythe Crescent Rose!"

"Holy shit that's cool!" _'Leave me alone, I just got to see Crescent Rose up close!'_

Ruby beams. "Thanks! It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!"

"And it just got cooler!" _'_ _Yep. I so gotta see that in action._ _'_

Ruby giggled and folded Crescent Rose back up. "So what've you got?"

 _'I am so glad I took my weapons apart at the hotel. Now I can actually explain how they work.'_

Pulling out _Kira_ I show it to her and I think I hear her squee. "This is _Kira_ , my short sword. And when you press this switch...", I morph _Kira_ into its sawed-off form. "It becomes a shotgun! The bullets explode on impact with enough power to take off an Ursa's head!"

Ruby's eyes seemed to sparkle as she stared at _Kira_. "Ooh..."

Putting _Kira_ away much to Ruby's disappointment. I smirked at her as I drew my pistols. "This is _Ebony_ and _Ivory_ , they use dust infused magazines. _Ebony_ fires Flame infused Dust bullets, while _Ivory_ fires Ice Infused Dust Bullets. I keep spare ammo in my coat pockets."

 _'I am so glad these pockets have zippers on them. I'm also glad Ozpin took pity on me and bought me extra ammo. Thanks author.'_

Ruby squee's again. In the background I can see Jaune walking around looking lost. As I put away my pistols, Ruby follows my gaze and sees Jaune. "Hey! That's the guy who threw up on the ship.!"

I nod and smile. "He looks lost Ruby, we should probably help him."

"Okay!"

I chuckle as we make our way to Jaune. Why? Well Ruby was skipping in the most adorable way possible. When we arrived and he noticed Ruby, his face faked a confident smirk.

"Hey there! The names Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue- ladies love it!"

 _'I swear to god if that's a flirt I will kick your ass.'_

…

 _'Where did THAT come from? Is that cause I suggested to be Ruby's long lost brother? Damn... Well whatever.'_

Ruby skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Do they?"

Jaune begins to talk enthusiastically. "They will! Well I-I hope they will. My mom always says that... Never mind.", And finishes talking weakly.

There's silence for several moments before I decide to break the tension. "Well Jaune. My name is Toby Lawliet, this is Ruby Rose." After I say her name, Ruby waves at Jaune enthusiastically. Then she suddenly made a grab for her weapon.

"So...I got this thing!" I chuckle and stand silent and watch as the entire meeting plays between Jaune and Ruby the way it should.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

"Wait- you MADE that?!", Jaune shouts in surprise.

Ruby grins. "Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! Didn't you make yours?"

Jaune suddenly acts dejected. "It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!", Ruby giggles happily. "Well! I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

Jaune sheathes his sword. "Yeah, the classics..." Jaune suddenly looks at me. "Oh hey! Did you make your weapons too?"

 _'Oh great. I gotta pull the amnesia card again. I hope you have a plan for this...'_

I pretend to be unsure. "I think?"

Jaune and Ruby look confused. "You think?"

"Yeah. I know how they work and how to take them apart... But I have no memories beyond a week ago or well... two weeks ago now. All I can remember Is all the stuff you see on me is mine and that my name is Toby Lawliet... I think. Not even my name sounds right.", I finish with a sad tone.

Jaune and Ruby gives me sympathetic looks before Ruby spontaneously gives me a hug. I assure her that I'm alright and she lets go.

"Dude, that's rough.", says Jaune.

I sigh. "Thanks guys... Anyway! We need to hurry to Orientation!", I begin to walk in a random direction.

"Ah! I forgot!", Ruby shouts as she and Jaune follow me.

We walk for awhile before Ruby speaks. "Hmm... Hey, where are we going?"

I respond with an unsure tone. "I actually have no clue... Hey Jaune do you know where we're going?"

"Oh, I don't know! I was following you... Y-You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some kind of recognizable landmark?"

Silence.

"Is uh... Is that a no?"

Ruby laughs before responding. "That's a no."

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Eventually, Ruby lead us into a large auditorium. And as we entered the room full of students and teachers alike, I honestly felt stupid.

 _'Come on Toby! This is the second detail you've forgotten in an extremely small amount of time.'_

The room is loud, full of chattering people, but one voice in particular breaks the sound barrier. "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" _'Jesus Yang... I'm on the other end of the room and that hurt my ears. I can only imagine what that did to the faunus in here...'_

Ruby turns to Jaune. "Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!" I prepare for Ruby to dash away and as I turn to Jaune, Ruby speaks again. "Come on Toby! You've got to meet Yang!"

 _'Wait what? Why? She does realize I already have yes? And what's up with this anyway? Is this cause I helped her with the Weiss Bomb?'_

…

 _Heh... Weiss Bomb..._

Without warning, Ruby grabs my arm and uses her semblance to dash over to Yang, I of course am dragged along and I feel my arm pop a bit as Jaune shouts "Hey, Wait!", behind us.

Once we make it to Yang and Ruby lets go off my arm, the first thing I do is begin to move my arm around in circles. _'Okay good. She didn't pop my arm out of its socket. That would have sucked. Then I would have needed to ask Yang to reset my arm and it would have been game over."_

…

" _Yang Over?"_

…

I notice that Yang keeps looking between me and Ruby with a strange look on her face. And soon she gets a faraway look in her eye.

 _'We get it author. Your really trying to hammer in that I am somehow related to Yang and Ruby. Get a fucking move on.'_

After several seconds, Ruby pokes Yang on her cheek. "Yang? You okay?"

Yang shakes her head quickly before giving Ruby a very Yang like smirk and she crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm fine! So, how's your first day going, little sister?"

Ruby face becomes annoyed. "You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?

Yang winces. "Yikes! Meltdown already?"

Ruby huffs. "No! I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?"

Yang smile widens and her eyes narrow. "Are you being sarcastic?"

Now Ruby huffs. "I wish! I tripped over some scary girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me! If it weren't for Toby-"

"You!", shouted Weiss. _'I thought I had prevented this...? Oh wait, she's yelling at Blake. Oh yeah! Because Blake gets a hold of one of Weiss's Dust Bottles after the explosion right? And since she didn't interrupt my conversation with Weiss, she must have done her anti-Schnee speech later.'_

…

 _'You just wanted to scare Ruby didn't you. God you're an ass.'_

Ruby jumps directly into her sisters arms, who in turn catches her despite the confused and shocked look on her face.

"Oh, God it's happening again!"

I sigh. "Calm down Ruby. We talked to her at the site of the explosion remember? She forgave us, we forgave her. She's yelling at someone else right now."

Yang is quiet for several seconds before my words sink in. "Oh, my God, you really exploded..."

"It was an accident...", I hear Ruby murmur before she gets down from her position in Yang's arms. She then looks between me and Yang before she grins, grabs me and pulls me closer to her and Yang. "Ow!"

"Yang! This is Toby! He stood up to me and made the scary girl stop yelling at me! Toby, this is my older sister Yang!"

 _'Once again, I would like to reiterate that I had already met her on the ship.'_

Yang seems amused by her sisters antics while I'm just in slight pain.

"Hi Yang, my names Toby and I am currently being held hostage by a little red reaper." "Hey!"

Yang chuckles. "Yeah, sorry about that! She grows on you I promise!" "Hey!"

 _'She already has Yang. She already has'_

The room suddenly goes quiet and the sound of a microphone starting up fills the, room. All heads including mine turn to the stage, to reveal Ozpin standing at the microphone, with Glynda a bit behind him.

" **I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in the search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far... It is up to you to take the first step."**

As Ozpin leaves Glynda takes over and speaks into the microphone, but I just watch Ozpin. This feels... I don't know.

' _He didn't even have his signature cup of coffee.'_

Glynda finishes what she has to say and leaves the microphone. After several moments, Yang speaks. "He seemed kind of... off."

"It's almost like he wasn't even there.", replies Ruby.

"I agree. This is strange..."

At that moment I hear Jaune from the other side of the room. "I'm a natural Blonde you know!"

 _'Really? He still gets to say that line? Despite everything that seems to have changed? He still managed to find Weiss?'_

I face-palm in annoyance. Ruby seems shocked. "Uh.. Toby? You okay?"

 _'Oh yes. I just remembered how hard it will be to get Arkos to sail with how apt Jaune is at making a fool of himself. But yeah, I'm fine...'_

…

 _'I am not fine.'_

 _ **END OF CHAPTER TWO**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

 _ **Arnold**_

The rest of the day was going to be spent touring the school. Ruby talked excitedly to Yang, no longer worried from my physical face-palming. I spot Jaune in the crowd and, surprise, surprise, He's flirting with Weiss. And Weiss is, to her credit, trying to deal with him calmly. Most likely because she remembers making Ruby cry earlier, but I can see the fuse getting shorter. The Weiss Bomb is about to explode. And this whole scene is being watched from afar by Pyrrha Nikos.

 _'Time to try and sail the S.S. Arkos.'_

"Hey Ruby? I need to go do something.", I say before I head over towards Jaune and the angering Weiss. I don't think Ruby even heard me though.

As I get closer, I see that Weiss is just about to blow, so I speak first. "Hey Jaune! Come here a sec!"

Jaune looks slightly annoyed from being interrupted, but walks towards me. "Yeah, Toby? What do you need?"

I put two fingers up to his face and he leans back and gives me a confused expression.

"Two things! One, your bugging her. She's not playing hard to get and your "Ladies Man" attitude is not helping. It doesn't make you seem more confident it just makes you seem like an ass."

Jaune looks sad, but I keep going now only my pointer finger in his face. "And two, there is a girl back there who's been wanting to talk to you since she saw you. Do yourself a favor and go say hi. Don't act like a ladies man and don't be an ass. Just be yourself dude."

Jaune honestly seems surprised and happy that a girl wants to talk with him. "Really? Where is she?"

I point behind him to Pyrrha who looks like she doesn't know how to react to suddenly being noticed. Upon seeing her, Jaune's eyes widen. "Whoa..."

 _'Arkos has sailed. I repeat, Arkos has sailed. Now I just gotta help keep it afloat.'_

I push him lightly towards Pyrrha. "Go talk to her. And remember, just be yourself and don't be an ass."

Jaune looks at Pyrrha for several moments before he gulps, nods at me, then heads towards Pyrrha. Mission accomplished.

"Thank you for that. That dunce was becoming insufferable."

 _'Oh yeah, I did just sorta help Weiss. Oh! I wonder if Weiss and Ruby are a possible ship or if that's just a fan thing. I'll have to watch and see. What was Ruby and Weiss's ship name again?... Oh, yeah! White Rose!'_

I turn to Weiss and smile. "He can be at times but he's not a bad guy. I think he might feel out of place here for some reason."

 _'aka, FORGED transcripts.'_

"Perhaps that is true, but he should not be- Is he flirting with Pyrrha Nikos!"

 _'Really Jaune?... Oh wait, they're both laughing. Okay, he's NOT making an ass of himself.'_

"Nope. She's been wanting to talk to him, so I sent him over there. I also told him to stop acting like an ass and to be himself... At least he listened..."

Weiss seems shocked. "She WANTED to speak with him?!"

"Yep.", I say popping the p. I then continue to watch Arkos in action.

 _'I'd like to think I've done some good today.'_

Weiss clears her throat and says in a hesitant tone. "How is that girl from earlier? Is she still upset?"

"Ruby? Nah, she's fine now. She is still a bit scared of you though.", I chuckled. "I don't know who you screamed "You!" at but it caused her to jump into her sisters arms in fear."

Weiss seems to wince slightly. "Yes, that was caused by one of the... students here. She spoke ill of my families company."

 _'Time to play the amnesia card.'_

"Your families company? Your family owns a company?"

Weiss gives me an incredulous look. "Are you a fool? Does the name Schnee Dust Company ring any bells?"

I tap the side of my head. "Now would be a good time to mention that I've got amnesia. I can only remember stuff from about two weeks ago till now."

"In that case my sympathies. I cannot imagine forgetting your whole life so suddenly one day."

 _'Okay, I need to get off the amnesia topic. I'm not so good at this... Oh I know!'_

"You know...", I started. "I think I may have bought product from your company once or twice... Do you sell Dust infused bullets?"

Weiss nods with a smirk. "Of course."

"Yep. That's where I know the name from. My pistols fire Flame and Ice Dust so that's what I buy. My name is Toby Lawliet by the way. At least as far as I remember."

Weiss gives me a small curtsy. "Weiss Schnee, a pleasure to meet you." She smiles before her scroll rings, she checks it and then speaks. "Forgive me but I must take this. It was nice meeting you Lawliet."

"You too Weiss, see you later!", I say. I then head off to try and find a familiar face.

 _'Wow writer, you really changed circumstances to help Weiss out in terms of attitude problems. I wonder if that will affect everything going forward or just some things. She does still seem a bit stuck up but... eh.'_

 _'So anyway, where's Ruby and Yang? I can't see them... I can't see Blake either. Jaune and Pyrrha seem to be having such a pleasant conversation I don't have it in me to interrupt them...'_

I sigh and decide to leave the auditorium.

 _'Okay author, fair warning. I'm only truly happy when I'm surrounded by people. That's why I took my weapons apart during my three day break at the hotel. It kept me busy while I was alone. I get uber sad if I'm left alone for too long, so throw me a bone.'_

As I step out of the auditorium and onto the step heading down, I gaze upon the sight of Beacon's courtyard looking for any familiar faces.

"Fetch little doggy!", I hear a voice shout. And a bone collides with my head before falling to the ground, leaving me with a slight headache.

…

" _Just... Fuck you...'_

Turning to the voice that had just shouted and I see him smirking above a frightened looking dog Faunus. The guy smirking is none other than Cardin Winchester. Picking up a bone, I feel the desire to be a little bit badass again. Haven't been able to do that since I showed off my skills to Ozpin.

Picking up the bone, I toss it several times to get a feel for it's weight. Then I smirk and throw the bone like a ninja star at Cardin's head. The bone hits home, and the dog Faunus runs away as Cardin's head whips back from the sheer force of my throw, afterwords though, Cardin sets his eyes on me.

"What's the big idea!?"

I scoff. "The "big idea" is we all just got here and you're already being a racist shit to someone. Also, look out where you throw your shit dingus. Someone might just throw it back."

 _'Oh yeah, I'm having fun. God I hope Blake is seeing this.'_

"Why should you care!", Cardin says with a sneer. "It's not like your one of these filthy animals."

' _Oh... I'm feeling pissed.'_

"The only one here that qualifies as a "filthy animal" is yourself ass-hat. I suggest you behave yourself."

Cardin smirks. "Or what? What will you do pipsqueak?"

 _'Hey! I resent that! I'm at least as tall as Jaune!'_

I smirk. "Or I'll make you behave.", I turn to leave. "Remember that."

I hear Cardin snort. "Whatever."

I ignore him and keep walking. _'What was even the point of that? To establish_ _what, that I hate Cardin? Or what?'_

…

 _'_ _Was that you trying to be funny because I said throw me a bone? You suck.'_

I continue to walk away from Cardin with no clear destination in mind. Then my stomach grumbles. _'Oh yeah, I haven't eaten today.'_

Heading in the direction of what I hope is the cafeteria, I am soon stopped by an uncertain voice.

"I thank you for helping me back there."

I turn to look at the owner of the voice and see that it's the same dog Faunas as before. His smile is uncertain and his crimson colored eye's keep darting around. His hair is silver, almost gray and is stylized into an extremely messy bowl cut, his gray dog ears popping out on both sides of his head. He is dressed in plain white dress shirt, black dress pants and, oddly enough, white sneakers. Or at least what passes as sneakers in Remnant. Over his dress shirt, he wears a messy unbuttoned blazer.

 _'I don't remember this guy from the show. Is he an original character?'_

I give him a kind smile. "It's no trouble. That guy was a douche."

The Faunus snickers and his smile grows, his uncertainty gone. "That he was!..." His smile fades and he looks saddened. "Cardin has always been like that though."

 _'Wait, this guy knows Cardin personally?'_

"You know the guy?"

The dog Faunus nods. "Yes, we went to Signal together. He has always picked on me..."

I cock my head to the side. "You don't stand up for yourself?"

The faunus violently shakes his head side to side. "No! If I do-, I mean-, he will-"

The room grows silent. Several moments pass and I sigh before I stick my hand out for him to shake. The Faunus flinches slightly but otherwise doesn't move.

"The names Toby Lawliet. What's yours?"

The dog Faunus, hesitantly shakes my hand. "My name is Arnold Campbell, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise.", I give what I hope is a calming smile. "Hey, I'm thinking of heading to the cafeteria. You wanna join?"

Arnold seems surprised. "You wish me to come?"

I nod. "Of course! Do you want to come?"

Arnold nods vigorously. "I-I would love to! Er-, I mean... That would be fine."

 _'I think I may have just met one of my future teammates.'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

The cafeteria was filled with students, but none I recognized, and looked almost exactly like it had in the school. The only difference, just like with everything else, is that it looked real.

 _'That's because it IS real.'_

I grabbed myself a slice of pepperoni pizza and a small salad, while Arnold grabbed pretty much all meat. _'aka, Small Steak, Pork chops and chicken.'_ Now with our food, Arnold and Me sat down at the table I know would one day be the table of teams RWBY and JNPR.

As we ate, I tried to break the ice and it actually worked. Arnold stopped stammering and I learned that Arnold had no parents, but he did have a little sister that he practically raised for as long as he could remember. Eventually, we got to talking about our reasons to be hunters and I of course had to lie and claim I was doing it to "find my past. _'Fucking Amnesia.'_ Arnold's reason... was very admirable. He wanted to be a Faunus people could look up to. Someone who could show Remnant that the White Fang didn't represent all Faunus.

Now however, the conversation took on a less serious tone.

"Hey, Arnold? What's the plural form of Ursa? Is it still Ursa? Or is it Ursai or Ursa's."

Arnold chuckled. "I believe that both Ursa and Ursai are applicable. You would be surprised about how often I hear that very same question."

"Are you sure? Cause I asked Ozpin the day I met him and not only did he fucking ignore me, but he gave me this look that I guess was like, "are you stupid?", so... yeah."

Arnold swallowed a piece of his steak and swallowed. "So... you said you were here to search for your missing past... I know it is early but... Any luck so far?"

 _'Well writer, I hope your going for the "long lost brother" sub-plot, cause that's what I'm using.'_

My face turns thoughtful. "I don't know... See there's these girls... Sisters. Their names are Yang and Ruby... I swear they remind me of something or someone... but I don't know who. Fuck I might be wrong! They might have nothing to do with anything... Other than that... I've got nothing."

Arnold give me a sympathetic smile. "I am sure you will find what your looking for here, you just need to be patient. I will help you in your search if you ever need it."

 _'I really like this guy. He almost reminds me of Matt in a way.'_

I give my new friend a wide smile. "I'll take you up on that! And in return, I'll do whatever I can to help you show the world that Faunus are not to be hated or feared." I move my arm out into a fist and Arnold chuckles before he fist bumps me. "It's a promise!"

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

That night, all new applicants to Beacon gathered in the ballroom for bed. Unlike most students, including Arnold, I did not have pajamas, so I just took off my coat and was gonna sleep in my current clothes. I put my coat in the backpack for now and let me tell you, I am sick of lugging this backpack around.

When I entered, Arnold an I made our way through the room and eventually I found a familiar face in the form of Ruby in her pajamas and a sleeping mask on her forehead. For some reason, there was a large space surrounding her, where no students were laying.

 _'You want me and Arnold to sleep there don't you? God you are really not subtle.'_

"Oh hey Arnold! I want to introduce you to someone!" Despite, his protests, I drag him over to Ruby, who seems to be writing a letter. When she notices us, she gives us a wide smile and I sit down next to her, tossing my backpack to the side. Arnold follows suit, just a little bit behind me.

"Hey Toby! What's up?"

I give her a cheeky grin. "The ceiling. But for reals, I came to introduce you to this guy.", I say as I pull Arnold closer. He glares at me before he looks at Ruby and then he just freezes.

 _'Wait... is he blushing? Oh no, you're doing this? Fucking really?'_

Despite his blushing frozen state and despite the fact I'm bitching on the inside, I decide to pretend not to have noticed and just introduce them. "Ruby, this is Arnold Campbell. Arnold, this is Ruby Rose. She's the one with the awesome giant scythe I told you about!"

Ruby seems happy that Crescent Rose's reputation has spread and Arnold seems to gather himself. He then, and I shit you not, picks up her hand and kisses it. "A pleasure to meet you Lady Rose."

 _'Must... Not... Shoot... Friend...'_

Ruby giggles and blushes. "I-it's nice to meet you too..."

 _'Oh my god. It's like I can literally see White Rose crumbling to dust.'_

"Hey! Hands off my sister!", says an angry voice from behind us. I don't even need to turn to see it's Yang. And Arnold yelps before he lets go of Ruby's hand immediately. I hear Yang make a sound of approval. "Good boy." Yang then makes her way to Ruby's other side and crashes there dressed in slightly more revealing pajamas, just a black tank top and brown hot-pants.

Yang's demeanor is once again happy. "It's like a big slumber party!"

Ruby replies while she blushes looking at Arnold. "I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though."

 _'Mayday! Mayday! This is the S.S. White Rose and we are beginning to sink before we can even leave port! Request immediate evac!'_

Yang doesn't seem to notice this as she stares at a random shirtless guy. "I know I do!" Then I hear her make a purring sound and I roll my eyes. Looking back at Ruby, I see that she has continued writing.

I hear Arnold speak. "Excuse me Ms. Rose, but may I ask what it is you are writing?"

Ruby's voice is sad. "A letter to my friends back at Signal. I promised to tell them about Beacon and how things are going."

Yang who has finally stopped staring at guys, returns to the conversation. "Aw, that's so **cuuuute**!" Then to my surprise, she is knocked back by a pillow that is launched in her face. The thrower seems to be Ruby.

Ruby huffs. "Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!"

…

 _'Why did that hurt? Is this you trying to make us family, or am I really upset?'_

Arnold speaks up. "You know us Ms. Rose"

"Yeah!" Yang says enthusiastically. "You also know Jaune! He's...nice! There you go! Plus three friends! That's a three hundred percent increase!"

Ruby smiles. "Yeah... I guess you're right Yang." Her smile fades. "I'm pretty sure the scary lady from earlier still hates me though... Pretty sure that counts as a negative friend."

Yang huffs. "There's no such thing as negative friends! You just made three friends and one enemy!" This time, Yang is hit with another pillow, this one dog shaped, to the face. I find myself smiling at their antics.

A candle is lit nearby and all our heads turn to one Blake Belladonna who is leaning against the wall reading the Hobbit.

 _'I can't help but notice that the dialog has changed... No ones moving to talk to her... It looks like I'm gonna have to be the one to introduce them...'_

"Hey Ruby, see that girl?", I say as I point to Blake. Ruby nods. "She doesn't seem to have too many friends either. I talked to her earlier and she seems really friendly."

Ruby looks uncertain. "Really?"

I nod encouragingly. "Yeah. You should go introduce yourself. She seems intimidating at first but all you need is to talk about books. She really likes to read."

Ruby still seems unconvinced and Arnold stands up. "Come Ms. Rose, if it will help you, I will gladly accompany you." That seems enough to convince her and they both head off towards Blake.

But for some reason, Yang doesn't follow. I turn my head and see that she's staring directly into my eye's, as if she's searching for something.

 _'Oh god this is different! Is this the brother thing again or did I somehow set off an angry Yang?... No, if she was pissed her eye's would me red...'_

I stare back for several seconds before I speak in a somewhat uncomfortable tone. "Yes?"

Yang doesn't blink. "Toby's your name right?"

 _'And here comes the Amnesia excuse. God I'm sick of it already.'_

I try to look solemn. "It is... at least as far as I know..."

Yang blinks. "Whad'ya mean as far as you know?

I chuckle humorlessly. "I woke up about two weeks ago with absolutely zero fucking memories and no I.D. to tell me who I was. All I know is I can fight pretty well, I know the names of all my weapons and Toby Lawliet might be my name. Other then that, I got nothing."

Yang gives me a sympathetic look. "So you're here searching for your past?"

I nod. "Yeah. I mean I must be able to fight well for a reason! And... I guess if I have no past to find here, I can always build a life here."

Yang gives me an encouraging smile and pats my shoulder gently. "That's a good attitude to have! And don't worry! I'm sure you'll find something!" I smile and nod in response.

We sit in silence and watch Ruby and Arnold talking to Blake for several moments before Yang speaks again. "Thanks for taking care of Ruby when she um... exploded? I still can't believe that happened."

I chuckled. "I guess you could say she made an _explosive_ entrance!"

…

….

…..

 _'Oh no, did I just make a damn fool of myself?'_

… _..._

I hear Yang snicker, right before she starts laughing so hard that there are tears in her eyes. _'Success!'_

"Oh! Tha- snrk- That was really bad!"

I nod and smile proudly. "I know! Tis' exactly why I said it!"

Yang continues to laugh and when she finally stops, she shouts across the room. "HEY RUBY! I THINK I'VE FOUND MY FAVORITE FRIEND OF YOURS! HE DOES PUNS!"

I hear Ruby groan and I see Arnold rubbing his Faunus ears in pain. Behind him I see Blake with a pained expression on her face as her bow twitches.

At that moment, Weiss storms into the scene and I'm pretty sure the Weiss bomb is exploding. "What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Ruby's eyes widen and she whispers loudly at Yang and me. "Shh! Guy's she's right! People are trying to sleep!

I chuckle smile sheepishly. "I know, I'm sorry Weiss." I think I see Arnold and Blake staring at me in surprise. _'What? Is it cause I knew her name, or cause I was friendly with her?'_

Weiss nods and, seemingly satisfied, returns to where she had been sleeping. Eventually, Ruby and Arnold return and we all settle for bed. The only light source coming from a candle owned by a beautiful cat Faunus...

 _'Initiation tomorrow, I need to get some sleep...'_

 _ **Chapter Three End**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_

 _ **The First Step For Us All**_

I follow Yang and Ruby as they get their equipment ready in one of Beacon's many locker rooms, though I do not need to get ready since I slept with all my equipment on me last night. The only thing I had to do was put my backpack in a locker for safe keeping. As we walk, I see Ren and Nora pass by us and I nod politely. Ren responds with a similar nod and Nora waves enthusiastically as they pass.

"So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!"

Ruby responds to her sister excitedly. "Yep! No more awkward small talk or "getting-to-know-you" stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." She then sigh's and then starts to stroke Crescent Rose in a creepy way.

 _'She looks like she's about to seduce the damn scythe... God I'm glad Arnold isn't here right now...'_

"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together.", Yang lectures.

Ruby groans in frustration. "You sound like Dad! Okay first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"

Yang folds her arms. "But what about when we form teams?"

"Um, I don't know, I...I 'll just be on your team or something..."

Yang starts to pet her hair for some reason. "Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?... Like Toby's!"

The girls both look at me and I shrug with a smile. "I'm cool with it. It'd be nice to see that huge scythe in action."

Yang seems satisfied. "See!"

Ruby smiles at me, but the slowly turn to look at Yang and she frowns, her eyes narrowed. _'Damn, that is one scary fucking look.'_

"My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"

Yang tries to salvage the situation and shakes her arms frantically. "What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!"

"What the-!? I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-"

"Ridiculous!" Jaune finishes Ruby's sentence as he walks by us with Pyrrah. In his hands, Jaune is holding a map and his face is confused. "There is no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high!"

Pyrrah laughs. "Do not worry so much Jaune. We will find your gear before time."

 _'S.S. Arkos is going strong. Good to know.'_

Returning to the conversation, I speak to Ruby. "She's just worried about you Ruby. It's one of her jobs as a big sis."

Yang gives me a grateful smile and Ruby sighs. "Yeah... I know."

Suddenly I hear Jaune scream and I turn and see Pyrrah looking horrified. Just beyond her is an extremely pissed off Weiss who had pinned Jaune to the wall. I am about to comment, but am stopped when an announcement comes on over the intercom.

" **Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first year-students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."**

My thoughts go numb. _'Oh FUCK! Landing strategy! Fucking Heights! FUCK!'_

"Toby? You alright? You're shaking and you look like you're about to scream."

 _'No. I'm not fucking okay at all Ruby. But thanks for asking, I appreciate it.'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

 _'Oh, Emerald Forest cliffs we meet again. I liked it fucking better when I was at the bottom of you. Fuck this height shit!'_

So... here we are. All lined up on the launching pads like lambs to the slaughter. I am set up between Ruby and Jaune. On Ruby's side is Yang and on Jaune's side is Arnold. From my spot, I remember the animation for these launch pads and I think I'm shaking. Ruby, being the sweet girl she is, squeezes my hand and gives me an encouraging smile. Meanwhile both Yang and Arnold watch me with similar looks of worry on there faces.

 _'Fuck! I can't believe I forgot this shit! Damn it!'_

From their spot ahead of us stands Ozpin and Glynda, him holding his damn coffee and her holding a small scroll tablet thing. Finally Ozpin speaks.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Glynda clears her throat. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates...today."

I hear Ruby murmur. "What? Oh..."

Ozpin continues where professor Goodwitch left off. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work well"

I hear Ruby groan as Ozpin continues. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Ruby screeches and I think I feel my ears pop. "WHAAAT!"

Ozpin smirks, cocky shit seems to be enjoying this. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you **will** die."

I hear Jaune laugh nervously then gulp. Anthony smirks and I see him pull out Dual Knives before he morphs them together, creating an SMG.

Ozpin continues after taking a sip of his coffee. "You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must be must choose must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Any question?"

Jaune raises his hand. "Yeah, um, sir?"

Ozpin ignores him. "Good, now take your positions. And Mr. Lawliet?"

Weiss is fired into the air.

Though I continue to shake, I give Ozpin a questioning eyebrow. "S-sir?"

Ozpin gives me a kind smile. "I am aware you harbor a deep hatred of heights. I do hope you won't hold this against me."

I chuckle slightly. "Only if you forgive any curse words that leave my mouth when this thing fires me."

Ozpin smirks. "Agreed."

Jaune speaks to my right. "So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"

"No. You will be using your own "landing strategy"

I turn my head and see Yang wink at Ruby and then me before she puts on her sunglasses and is fired into the air. Next is Ruby and then...

I feel myself launched into the air and I am unable to reel in my mouth.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKK!"

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

I continue to scream as I fall closer and closer to the forest floor. Acting on instinct, I draw _Ebony_ and begin to fire at any branches in my way, the Flame Dust Bullets burning away at the wood. Holstering _Ebony_ , I draw _Ivory_ and shoot at as much ground as possible below me, before finally shooting up a fallen branch in my way. The Ice Infused Dust bullets freeze the ground and create a slide for me. I holster _Ivory_ as I land, but am unable to stop myself as I slide, while still screaming, directly into a tree.

"Ow..."

 _'Okay Author... On one hand, fuck you! On the other hand, that was cool as shit! Creating a fucking slide made of Ice!'_

Eventually, I manage to stand and I look around and see that everything around me is on fire or frozen. _'_ _I may have gone a little overkill though..._ _Now... Which way is North?_ _'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

I'd only been walking for about twenty minuets when suddenly, I find myself surrounded by four Beowolves. I draw my pistols with a smirk. "I was wondering when the Grimm would come out and play!"

 _'Since when did I get so cocky?'_

"Come On!", I challenge. "If I can kill ten Ursai, then you'll be nothing!"

The Beowolves snarl and circle me. I make the first move and shoot one in the face with _Ebony_ , killing it instantly. In reaction, the others charge and I fire both _Ebony_ and _Ivory_. Killing one and freezing another to the ground by it's feet. The last one slashes at me, in response, I flip over it and as I flip, I fire _Ebony_ directly into it's forehead. Another dead Beowolf.

Walking over to the frozen Beowolf, I smile as I put _Ebony_ to it's head execution style. "I think I'm getting the hang of this!"

Last Beowolf dead.

 _'Damn, I should've used a one-liner there! Friggin missed opportunity.'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Eventually, I am attacked by an Ursa, before I can fight however, it is suddenly riddled with bullets as Gunshots ring through the air. And, as the Ursa falls, I turn to see the one who killed it.

A smiling Arnold Campbell. Who holds up his fist.

"Oh hell yes!", I shout before I run up to him and fist bump him. "Glad to see you dude!"

Arnold chuckles. "I am glad to see you as well my friend. Tell me, how did your landing strategy turn out? Mine was...", he winces. "Less than ideal."

"I made a slide out of Ice and slid down it.", I said proudly before faltering. "Still hit a tree though... What did you do."

Arnold winces again and shuts his eyes. "I... landed with a branch between my legs at approximately one hundred miles per hour..."

 _'Oh...'_

…

 _'Ow...'_

"That... sounds like it hurt. Are you okay to move?"

Arnold gives me a cocky smirk before heading off and I follow. "I killed the Ursa did I not."

"Very true! Though I don't know how you're doing it. If that had been me, I'd still be lying down screaming 'my precious!' as loud as possible"

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

We had been walking for several minutes and the only sounds you could hear were the sounds of the forest, the occasional Grimm and our lively conversation. Currently, we were talking about Beacon's headmaster.

"So what is your theory? He cannot simply walk around with one singular cup of coffee with the rate in which he drinks."

I'd actually wondered about that. "Hm... do you think Beacon has staff who's only job is to fill his coffee cup?"

A Beowolf appears but Arnold dispatches it easily and we continue on as if nothing had happened. In our path North in the distance, I can see a clearing. "I do not believe that is correct. I think we would have seen them at some point."

"Maybe he carries a flask of coffee?", I suggested.

Arnold hums thoughtfully. "Perhaps... However, his coffee always seems to be warm... Perhaps, if he does have a flask, it is much like your _Ebony_."

"What, like... uses Flame Dust? To what? Warm the coffee?"

Arnold nods. "That is my theory." The clearing is almost upon us now, though I continue to look at my friend.

"You realize.", I say. "As someone indebted to Ozpin, if he doesn't already own a flask that does that... I'm gonna have to buy him one."

Arnold chuckles as we step into the clearing. "I do not believe that 'Dust Infused Flask' is a thing you will find in quantity my friend, though-", he stops suddenly and his eyes widen. "This is unfortunate."

I turn to look at what he calls 'unfortunate' and see, to my horror, that every tree in or around the clearing is covered in what look like giant spider webs. "The fuck?!". I look down and see that the ground under our feet is also covered in webs, though it does not seem overly sticky. Then I noticed something...

 _'Isn't this the same clearing I woke up in when I first came to this world? Where did all these webs come from?'_

"What the hell caused all this?"

I hear Arnold sigh in resignation. "These webs are created by Widows, an arachnid type Grimm. They can weave a web such as this within only a few short hours, though usually they keep their nests further from the cliffs. The real question is... why are they here?

 _'No. Fuck you. I refuse. No giant spiders and no giant Black Widows! You already have shown an attachment to making me fly! No spiders!'_

I laugh nervously. "Um...They don't... They aren't poisonous are they?"

Arnold nods glumly. "They are. So much so that a full grown Widow can kill you with one poisonous strike. An Alpha's bite can kill within seconds, Aura or no."

I give another nervous laugh and back up a bit. _'Yeah, no. I ain't fucking doing this.'_

"Shouldn't we... I don't fucking know... run? Before they find us?"

Arnold's face is grim. "It would not help... See these webs on the floor?" I nod and he continues. "They send vibrations throughout the area. To all connected webs in the vicinity..."

The sound of loud scuttling from several directions makes me look away from my friend and I see a horrifying sight. From all areas of the clearing, from webs and trees, emerges a large amount of Widows. I can see the telltale hourglass on the closet one to me and each spider has their limbs outlined by bone. Each single one had eight eyes colored blood red and I can see a sort of... glee coming off them in waves. They all vary in sizes, the smallest being the size of a small dog and the tallest being the size of a person. I count about thirty of them and they are now surrounding us.

"...They knew we were here the minute we stepped foot here." Arnold finishes. "We are lucky that the Alpha is not here..."

"How big is it? The Alpha?", I ask quietly. I can feel myself shaking as I draw _Ebony_ and _Ivory_. _'Why did it have to be giant spiders?'_

" **She** is big,", Arnold responds as he draws his SMG/ Dual Knife weapon thing. "At least half the size of a Death Stalker. And she would not appreciate us coming to her nest."

The Widows make clicking noises at one another as they slowly approach. _'Are they talking?'_ These clicking noises continue even after the Widows stop moving and remain for several seconds.

Then they stop clicking. And they explode into action, crawling at us from all directions. "Fire!" Arnold screams as he begins to shoot his SMG.

I fire at the Widows with my pistols as they charge. Arnold and I are back to back, shooting as many as we can. I aim for the head, catching some aflame and freezing others. I am able to kill five with this method before the Widows are too close. The nearest Widow lunges at my throat and I spin out of its path, screaming as I holster my pistols. I unsheathe _Kira_ and hold it two handed as I watch the Widows around me carefully. One of the Widows, a rather small one, jumps toward my face and I slash downward, easily cutting it in half.

But then the rest spring into action. I lose track of Arnold as my world becomes filled with spider legs, fading Grimm, fangs and my own fear. I hack off limbs and weave and duck under striking limbs when I can. As the battle continues, I can feel fatigue setting in and my moves become slower.

 _'I guess this body... my body... still has its limits. This whole situation fucking sucks...'_

I count how many are still around me and sigh in frustration when I see that I still have ten. I switch _Kira_ to its sawed-off form and fire at two Widows. The bullets explode as expected, killing them instantly. I switch _Kira_ back into a sword and draw _Ivory_ with my other hand, as an idea comes to my head.

I am attacked at once by the remaining ten Widows, I block as many strikes with _Kira_ as I can and I use _Ivory_ to freeze the faces of any Widows that try to bite me. Eventually, I manage to shoot the Widows in a way to trap them all together in a large clump of Ice. I smirk and holster _Ivory_. Switching Kira into the sawed-off, I jump above the mass of frozen bodies and fire.

The shot explodes on impact. Killing all Widows involved, throwing limbs, guts and ice everywhere. And I land with a relieved smile on my face. I turn and see that Arnold has also finished of his group of Widows.

...Until I am suddenly pulled to the right by my leg. I shout, dropping _Kira_ way from me as I fall, and watch in fear as I'm dragged by a large string of web from the largest Widow of the pack. _'Fuck! I forgot about you!_ _Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'_

I draw both my pistols and fire at the large Widow, but in my screaming panic I am unable to get in a good shot. Now above me, the Widow knocks _Ebony_ and _Ivory_ from my hands and lunges to bite at my throat. I shut my eyes in fear.

But nothing happens. I open my eyes and see that the Widow is stopped in it's tracks trembling. As if it is trying to move but is unable to. Then I hear Arnold shout. "SHOOT IT! I CANNOT HOLD IT FOR MUCH LONGER!" I turn my head and see Arnold holding his hands out like a Jedi and his face shows that he's about to collapse. _'Is he... stopping it somehow?'_

'HURRY!", Arnold shouts and I break into movement. I pick up _Ebony_ and shove it into the Widows mouth. I pull the trigger and keep firing until the Widow finally fades. I hear Arnold collapse and, breathing heavily, I retrieve and holster my pistols before I drag my feet over to him. I pick up _Kira_ on the way and sheathe it before I collapse on the ground next to him.

I can hear Arnold breathing as hard as me. "You...alright?"

I nod tiredly. "Y...Yeah. That...sucked."

"I agree..."

Several moments pass before I speak again, my breathing now under control. "How'd you do that? Freeze it I mean?"

"It is my Semblance. I am able to stun my target for several moments. However, the stronger my target, the harder it is for me to hold it."

"That sounds friggin awesome!", I chuckle tiredly. "I wish I could do that."

Arnold begins to stand and I follow suit. "If you do not mind me asking, what is your Semblance? I have not seen you use it." We brush ourselves off of any webs we can as we talk.

 _'Oh! I forgot I could even have one! Do I have one? Or is it not unlocked yet?'_

"I don't know. If I have one I don't know how to use it."

Arnold gains a thoughtful look. "It is possible you have not yet encountered the necessary...'trigger' that is required for you to activate it."

I am about to ask what the trigger is, when suddenly I hear another sound of scuttling. Arnold and I look at the source and we see, to our absolute horror, another Widow. Unlike the others, this one is about half the size of a Death Stalker and is covered, and I mean COVERED, in bone.

The Alpha...

 _'Wait...'_

What Arnold said rushes back to me...

" _ **She is big,", Arnold responds as he draws his SMG/ Dual Knife weapon thing. "At least half the size of a Death Stalker. And she would not appreciate us coming to her nest."**_

 _'Oh no...'_

The Alpha Widow was not just the Alpha...

 _'She was the mother...'_

The Mother Widow enters the clearing, clicking as she drags several bodies of Grimm behind her. I can see what looks like three Ursa tied up and struggling in their webs. The Mother Widow enters the clearing and stops. She looks around and tests the vibrations of the webs on the ground. Suddenly she tenses and begins to scuttle throughout the clearing and the clicking becomes frantic. Then she sees blood on the ground. Grimm blood. Widow blood.

The blood of her children...

The Mother Widow releases her hold on the Ursa, who completely ignore us and run away. The Mother Widow clicks several more times quietly before she finally let's out a loud piercing shriek. The Mother Widow continues to shriek as she shrinks in on herself and after awhile, she stops shrieking all together. It continues to click but quietly this time. I see what looks like...tears?

 _'Grimm's can...cry? Or is this specific to Widow's?'_

Arnold's whispered voice pierces the silence. "We must run! Even if we were not tired, this foe is beyond either of us!"

"O-okay.", I whisper in response. "I'll follow your lead."

We take a step away from the Mother Widow and we watch, to our horror, the webs on the ground vibrates it's way to the grieving Mother Grimm.

"Shit! The Webs!", I say as I draw _Ebony_ and _Ivory_

"We are in trouble...", Arnold replies as he draws his Dual Knives.

The Mother Widow stops clicking and freezes as the tremor in the webs reaches her. She slowly turns her head and eight eyes set its sight upon us. The Mother Widow gets up slowly and it sees something that makes it freeze. Me an Arnold are covered in webs and Widow Blood...

Sorrow becomes Wraith and the Mother Widow shrieks again.

Arnold is the first to act. "RUN! BULLETS CANNOT PIERCE THIS FOE!" He runs and I follow him. Running North of the Widows home, it is not long until trees are knocked over by the Wrathful Mother Widow behind us. As we run, I use _Ivory_ to shoot at her legs in an attempt to freeze her and slow her down. But, the Ice is unable to hold her for long.

"ANY IDEAS!", I shout as I fire _Ivory_ again.

"KEEP RUNNING!", Arnold responds.

"FUCK!"

We keep running as the Mother Widow gains ground. I continue to fire _Ivory_ and soon I hear Anthony again. "BULLETS DO NOT WORK! YOU ARE WAISTING AMMO!"

"I'M TRYING TO FREEZE HER! CAN'T YOU USE YOU SEMBLANCE TO STUN HER OR SOMETHING!"

"I DID SAY THAT THE BIGGER THEY ARE THE HARDER IT IS!"

"FUCK!"

The Mother Widow snaps at me, and I roll out of the way. The Mother Widow turns and puts herself between Arnold and me.

"SHIT!"

"TOBY!"

The Mother Widow lunges at me and I jump back and draw Ebony as I fire Ivory into one of the Widows eyes. It freezes and the Mother Widow shrieks and backs away.

 _'Her eyes are her weak point.'_

"ARNOLD! HER EYES ARENT SHIELDED! AIM FOR HER EYES!" Arnold nods in understanding before rushing over to where I stand.

And we do. The sound of gunshots rules the area as we fire at her eyes. Not all bullets make it, but they are close enough to drive away the Mother Widow and she backs up a bit. I holster my pistols and draw _Kira_ before switching it to sawed-off mode. I point at the Widow Mother and scream.

"ARNOLD! GET AWAY! FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

Arnold stops firing and gets as far away as possible. I jump back and fire, the bullet explodes on impact and the Mother Widow screams in pain as parts of her outer bone shatters and flies off. A leg is also blown off and the Mother Widow seems surprised we've managed to hurt it. She let's out another shriek before scuttling away.

I let out a sigh of relief and sheathe _Kira_ as I struggle to breath. "Correct...my earlier...statement, THAT sucked..."

Arnold responds as he too tries to breath. "We... need to... move... an Alpha Widow... will not suffer... the deaths of her... pack."

"But how?... I don't think... we can outrun her... forever."

Once we have our breathing under control Arnold looks at the fallen pieces of bone before speaking. "My friend... I believe I have an idea..."

"Okay, shoot."

Arnold smiles. "If I theoretically used one of these large shards of bone as a board... could you use your pistol to freeze us a path?"

Checking my pockets for ammo I curse. "Yeah, but I don't have enough ammo for that kind of travel. I should be fine on Ice Dust though."

Arnold sighs before he switches his weapon into an SMG. He pulls out the magazine before tossing it to me. "Here, this magazine is designed to work for both my SMG and standard pistols. I've designed it as such."

"How much ammo?", I ask as I examine the magazine. _'He's right, this thing should fit in Ivory just fine._ _But aren't the bullets different? Fuck, this is Remnant, not Earth. Maybe the bullets are all the same?_ _I don't know, I'm in a hurry but I'm so asking later.'_

Arnold gives me a smile. "I made that myself. The bullets are created by my Aura." His face then becomes grim. "You have as much bullets as I have Aura."

 _'This sounds like a fucking horrible idea...'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Arnold and I are standing on top of a piece of Widow bone, large enough for both of us to stand on. The Widow bone itself is already on a layer of ice so we stand carefully, our feet frozen to the bone. Arnold is holding _Kira_ in its sawed-off form and my ammo for it. The idea being that the explosions it causes with propel us forward quickly. I of course am holding _Ivory_.

I give an uneasy chuckle. "You ready for this crazy ass shit?"

We hear the sounds of scuttling. Far away, but still headed our way.

"I believe it does not matter. Let us go! She is approaching!"

We nod to each other and I fire at the ground in front of us. Arnold fires behind us and the resulting explosion causes us to fly forward. We continue to do this, changing where we aim and where the explosions will propel us. Occasionally, I create ice ramps where needed, to avoid any fallen branches.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Eventually, our ride reaches another clearing and we steer into it and I see a familiar sight. The abandoned temple... in front of the structure stand an extremely shocked Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long watching us approach. I fire _Ivory_ in a scattered pattern, as to slow us down but not throw us off. When we've stopped, I hand Arnold back his magazine and place mine back in. I holster _Ivory_ and he gives me back _Kira_ , which I switch back into a sword and sheathe. I draw _Ebony_ and fire around our frozen feet, the ice melts and we finally get off. I holster _Ebony_ before looking at Arnold, who is panting and wheezing.

"You alright?"

Arnold nods. "I will be, though I am low on Aura."

I give him a worried look. "How low?"

"I believe that if you were to shoot me, I would die. My Aura would not save me."

I look him over and nod. "Okay. Stay behind me until your Aura's fine again."

Arnold, still out of breath, nods at me thankfully.

 _'If my memory of the next hour or so are correct... then he's gonna need to save his strength.'_

I turn to look at the girls and smile. "Hiya! Sorry to just _slide_ in without warning but we were in a hurry.

Yang starts snickering and Blake looks like she can't even. "Did you just ice-skate all the way here on a Grimm bone?"

"Well-", I try to respond only for the sound of a large bird screeching fills the air. This is soon followed by the sounds of what I remember is a falling Ruby.

Yang turns her confused gaze on Blake, Arnold and Me. "Did you guy's hear that? What should we do?"

I look up and see Ruby falling right for me at a speed so fast I am unable to move. "HEEEEAAAADDDDSSSS UUUUUUPPPPP!"

Despite her warning she collides into me and I fall over in pain. At least it looks like I broke Ruby's fall. Ruby soon gets off me and I stand up as well with a groan. I look and see that Ruby is stumbling and her eyes are going everywhere.

"Oohhhh... What _was_ that?" Ruby shakes away her dizziness, then seems to remember that she fell on me and she gives me a worried look. "Toby! I'm _SO_ sorry! I didn't mean to land on you!"

Despite the pain, I chuckle. _'God this day is beating the crap out of me.'_

"That's okay little red, I'm fine see?", I gesture to myself.

I see Blake looking over to Yang. "Did your sister just fall from the sky?"

"I-", Yang is interrupted by the sound of crashing noises from the forest ahead of us. We all look at an Ursa comes out swiping its claws. "YEEEE-HAAAAW!" The rider, whom I know is Nora blasts it in the back with some pink energy thing and it topples over dead. Nora rolls of the Ursa's back as it begins to fade before she groans and looks at it with a sad face. "Awwww... It's broken." She then dashes onto the fading Ursa's neck for some reason and I see Ren come out of the forest and stop behind her out of breath.

He leans on the fading Ursa as he speaks. "Nora! Please... Don't ever do that again." He looks up to Nora only to see that she has run over to the temple.

She picks up one of the many relics, the golden rook, and begins to sing and dance. " _I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"_

I hear Ren scream from behind me as I watch Nora with a smile on my face. "Nora!"

Nora stops dancing and salutes Ren with a smile. "Coming, Ren!" She then begins skipping on her way to Ren. Soon after they walk back over to us, Ren looking worn out and Nora shaking with excitement for some reason.

Blake still can't even. "Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?"

"I-", this time it's Arnold that is interrupted when we hear a loud screech to our right. We all turn our heads and see Pyrrha Nikos sprinting into the clearing. Then, the trees behind her uproot as a Death Stalker chases after her. Pyrrha dodges an attacking pincer narrowly by jumping over it and rolling back into a run. For some reason, I see Jaune run in from behind me and he, to my shock and confusion, runs towards the commotion.

 _'How much shit did Arkos change?'_

Pyrrha sees Jaune and looks relieved, "Jaune!"

Jaune looks alarmed and I see why. The Death Stalker uses its pincer and smacks Pyrrha though the air. She screams as she fly's but then something I in no way saw coming occurs. Jaune runs in her path and jumps. He manages to catch her bridal style and lands on his feet. "Just... dropping in? he quips. And I hear Pyrrha laugh.

 _'Holy shit... That was smooth as fuck."_

I notice that the Death Stalker is still charging at them and I draw _Ebony_. I fire into the creature repeatedly, the Flame Dust catching the grass on it on fire. The Death Stalker starts screeching and runs in a tight circle trying to put it out.

 _'Oh my god... That is fucking hilarious.'_

Blake's can't even grows stronger. "Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?

Yang starts to growl and I cautiously back away several steps. Finally she screeches and fire erupts around her for a second and her eyes turn red. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! CAN EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN!"

Yang huffs as she tries to calm down, but looks defeated when Ruby pulls on her sleeve and points up. "Um... Yang?"

I look up as others do as well and see a giant Nevermore. Holding on to its talon for dear life is a terrified Weiss. Weiss calls down to Ruby. "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME!?"

Ruby shouts to the sky. "I SAID 'JUMP'!"

Blake. "She's gonna fall.

Ruby. "She'll be fine."

Ren. "She's falling."

We all watch her fall and, just as I'm about to do something, Ruby runs under Weiss and catches her. Both fall to the ground in pain.

Weiss speaks mockingly, but it comes out as a pained statement. "My... hero..."

Ruby, who is still under her groans. "My Back..."

They remain there for several seconds staring at each other before Weiss suddenly stands up blushing. Ruby also jumps up and she pokes her pointer fingers together as she blushes.

 _'Did... Did you just White Rose me?'_

My thoughts are halted when the Death Stalker, no longer on fire, starts to charge at us.

I hear Yang deadpan way to happily. "Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!"

Ruby smirks and says, "Not if I can help it!" and charges at the Death Stalker.

Yang and me both shout. "Ruby!" I miss Yang's shocked look as I sprint after her and draw _Ebony_. I am unable to keep up with her, but I do shoot at the Death Stalker and hope it catches fire again. Unfortunately, the Death Stalker is no longer flammable, all grass burned off its shell.

Ruby fires Crescent Rose to gain speed and tries to slice into the Death Stalker. It simply swats her into the air and as she falls, I jump into the air to catch her while holstering _Ebony_. I catch her and the force of her falling tosses us both into a tree trunk. I get the worse of the two of us and I hit my head on the trunk hard...

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

When I finally wake up I groan as I feel my massive headache. Looking at my surroundings, I see that I am surrounded by the relics in front of the abandoned temple. I see everyone gathered in the general area and as I groan, I gain the attention of Yang who seems relieved I'm awake. She rushes up to me and, to my surprise, picks me up and hugs me. At this moment, I can see everyone's relieved faces.

 _'Were they worried about me?'_

"I'm so happy you're okay!" She hugs me for several seconds before letting go and smacking me upside my head, increasing my headache. "Never do that again! I have enough to worry about with Ruby!"

 _'Yang was that worried? Is this the "long lost brother' thing again?'_

I groan in pain. "Understood... please stop hitting me..." Yang nods and gives me a thumbs up.

 _'Fuck, I wish this day would just end...'_

Jaune shouts in fear. "Guys? That things circling back! What are we gonna do?

Before anyone can respond, the sound of scuttling joins the sounds of the other Grimm and a loud piercing screech fills the air. All of us cover our ears and Arnold and me look in fear, soon the others see our worried looks and watch to see what we're so afraid of.

Into the clearing, charges in the extremely angry pissed off Alpha Mother Widow. She quickly spots Arnold and I and charges. She is damaged from our earlier battles, but not enough to weaken her.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?", I shout.

Blake seems surprised and I can see she knows the gravity of the situation. "How on Remnant did an Alpha Widow get here!?"

Arnold glares at the oncoming Widow. "I believe it must have tracked Toby and I here!"

Blake's amber eyes widen and Weiss exclaims next. "It was following you!?"

"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!", I shout. "EVERYONE GRAB A RELIC AND RUN!"

"Run and live- that's an idea I can get behind!" Jaune quips.

Everyone gets their destined pieces and Arnold grabs two white pawns before tossing one to me. At my questioning look he shouts. "Trust me!" I nod and shove the pawn in my zipper pocket.

"Time we left!", Ren shouts and we all flee away from the charging Death Stalker, Mother Widow and flying Nevermore.

 _ **Chapter Four End**_


	5. Chapter 5

_I really want to apologize for this chapter. I've done so many edits and it till doesn't feel nearly as good as some of the others. (At least the battle scene.) Still, I have improved it a lot from its original state and I hope you enjoy regardless._

 _Also, I want to thank a reviewer for informing me of a misspelling and for telling me that Ozpin drinks Hot Chocolate. NOT Coffee. :) I will make sure Toby finds out this fact later on. Once again thank you._

 _ **Chapter Five**_

 _ **Teamwork**_

We sprint out of the forest and into what looks like a series of abandoned structures. The Nevermore fly's close above us before perching on a structure ahead of us. To avoid being seen, we all hide in different spots in the area, me being behind a collapsing wall next to Arnold.

"Well, _that's_ great!", Yang say's in an annoyed tone.

We all look behind us and see the Death Stalker and Mother Widow charging at us from behind.

"RUN!" I scream, and we all sprint out from our hiding place. The Nevermore sees us and rises back up into the air.

I see the Nevermore shooting it's feathery projectiles at us and I draw and fire _Ebony_ at it. The bullet's catch fire, but the Nevermore seems unfazed. "FLOCK OFF FEATHERFACE!" Despite the chaos, I think I hear Yang laugh. _'Oh good. Devil May Cry reference for the win.'_

"Nora! Help him!" I hear Ren shout. I continue to fire at the Nevermore and soon I see several heart shaped projectiles hit and electrocute the giant bird. It squawks in pain and retreats.

 _'Well, that worked significantly better. Maybe I should have used Kira's sawed off form.'_

"Thanks Nora!"

She gives me a wide grin and gives me a thumbs up. We are pulled out of the moment when the Death Stalker swipes at Nora. She is knocked into Ren who catches her and I am relieved they both seem fine.

Then I am suddenly tackled to the side by Blake. I'm confused until I see the Mother Widow stabbing where I had just been with its legs.

"You alright?", she asks.

I feel my face heat up and I feel my heart begin to beat faster. "Y-Yeah. Thanks." She nods with a "Hmm" and helps me up and soon we are all running again; the Deathstalker and Mother Widow hot on our tails.

"How ever are we going to get to Ozpin at this rate!?" Arnold shouts from my left side.

"Fuck if I know!" I respond.

Our retreat leads us to an ancient stone bridge and as we approach said bridge, I am suddenly struck with a sense of deja vu.

 _'Why does this look so familiar?'_

"Go, go!" Pyrrha shouts to us as she switches _Milo_ to what looks like a Rifle and begins to shoot at the two incoming Grimm behind us. Seeing this, Ren and I begin to fire at the monsters in an attempt to slow them down as our allies flee across the bridge. Soon, I hear the sound of an SMG going off to my left and turn my head to see, much to my surprise, a very faint looking Arnold.

 _'What the hell is he doing?!'_

Before I am able to shout at Arnold to stop, we are all forced to retreat back further towards the bridge when the Deathstalker and Mother Widow get too close to comfort. In a last ditch effort I holster my pistols before unsheathing _Kira_ and switching to it's sawed-off form.

"FUCK OFF!" I shout as I fire towards both Grimm.

The resulting explosion causes the Deathstalker to falter and I see the Mother Widow flee.

 _'At least that's one gone for now...'_

Turning back to my allies, I run with Arnold towards the bridge.

And then I remember.

 _'The Nevermore!'_

I put my hand out to prevent Arnold from crossing as I call out to my allies already on their way across the bridge as the Nevermore closes in on them.

"EVERYONE GET OFF THE BRIDGE!", I scream.

 _'How the fuck did I forget about the bridge?!'_

My allies are unable to react in time before the Nevermore uses its giant wings to shatter the bridge right down the middle. I watch in horror as the destruction forces Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Nora and Jaune to the other side. I am at least relieved to see that Blake, Ren and Pyrrha using their weapons and abilities to work their way up and back to my side.

Unfortunately we still have a Deathstalker to deal with as well as a Nevermore circling overhead... and fuck knows where the Mother Widow is.

 _'This is bad...'_

The Deathstalker charges at the five of us and we all react accordingly. Blake and Ren dive under the Scorpion slashing at its underside as Pyrrha switches _Milo_ into a spear and tries to stab under it's armor.

Keeping one arm in front of Arnold, I fire Ivory at the Deathstalker's legs in hopes of freezing it to the ground as I back us away from the Grimm.

Suddenly Arnold shouts. "LOOK OUT!"

The next thing I know, a web is launched and sticks itself to my legs. Faster than I can react, I feel myself pulled to the ground and I scream as the Mother Widow drags me away from my allies. A familiar voice also screams to my left and I see Arnold in a familiar situation just like my own.

I hear my allies shouting, though am unable to make out their words due to my own and Arnold's screaming and I am pleasantly surprised to see bullets coming from their direction. It is useless however and soon Arnold and I are dragged back into the forest where the Relics once sat.

Trying to calm my fear, I unsheathe _Kira_ and slash at the webs dragging me. Luckily, one slash is all that was needed and my legs are freed. Standing up, I see the Mother Widow is attempting to drag Arnold in further and I watch as he tries helplessly to slash at his webbing with his knives.

 _'Gotta hurry...'_

Calming myself, I sprint towards my friend as fast as I can and when I finally catch up, we are at the very edge of the clearing. Slashing downward, I manage to free Arnold without much trouble.

The Mother Widow, seemingly none the wiser continues to flee into the forest.

"T-thank you... my friend." Arnold huffs out.

Breathing hard I offer him a hand up. "No... problem."

As I help Arnold up, I take note of his appearance. I see that his skin appears clammy and he seems to be sweating from over-exertion. He is bruised in several spots and I can see many cuts all over his body. The web dragging him really took a toll on him.

 _'The dumb-ass stunt he pulled earlier despite his low Aura probably didn't help matters.'_

Feeling myself becoming angry, I am getting ready to scold Arnold when I am interrupted by a loud screech from the forest and I turn my head back in alarm.

 _'Looks like she just figured out she lost her passengers...'_

Turning back to look at Arnold, I can see him staring into the forest in fear as he grips his knives so hard that his knuckles become white.

 _'Those knives aren't gonna help him much here... and I can't send him back to our friends without slowing them down...'_

Momentarily sheathing _Kira_ ; I draw _Ebony_ and _Ivory_ and hold them up to Arnold, who is still staring into the forest.

"Put away your knives." I command.

Arnold looks to me in surprise before he sees my guns. Nodding in understanding, he sheathes his knives before grabbing my pistols. Grabbing what little pistol ammo I have remaining, I shove them in Arnold's arms as he tries to not drop everything I just gave him.

"Get further back in the clearing." I command. "Don't shoot unless she or another Grimm gets close."

Arnold gives me a worrying look. "What are you going to do?"

 _'Don't ask me smart questions right now...'_

I give Arnold what I hope is a reassuring smile and unsheathe Kira before shifting it to sawed-off. "I'm gonna try to blow up a fucker." Switching my face back to serious, I point back into the clearing. "Now go!"

Nodding in response, Arnold runs back with my guns in tow. Turning back to the forest, I take several steps back as I hear the sounds of the Mother Widow's many legs stomping their way towards me.

Feeling a fear rising inside me I try to keep my breathing steady as I pray to whatever will listen.

 _'Hey god, or writer or whatever is listening... I'm in a lot of trouble right now and I don't know how I'm gonna get out of it. I need some help here...'_

Taking one final calming breath, I glare as the form of the Mother Widow emerges from the forest.

 _'I don't know why I'm here. I don't even know where I'm getting the courage to stand up to Grimm when, logically, I should be running in fear. I don't even know why I can fight as well as I can...'_

Pointing _Kira_ at my foe, I prepare to pull the trigger.

 _'But I am NOT gonna die here without a fight. Not when there's so much I need to do. Not when I have a friend I need to save.'_

Wordlessly, I fire _Kira_ at the charging Widow who screeches as yet even more bone armor is blown off her body. Reloading quickly, I walk backwards as I fire again. The Mother Widow screeches as she tries to flee but I am able to reload and fire again.

By now, the Mother Widow is almost completely devoid of armor; what little armor remaining only covering very small areas.

I move to grab more ammo and am horrified to discover that I'm out of ammo. Most of it used by Arnold and I on our Ice sliding adventure from earlier.

 _'Well fuck me running...'_

Switching _Kira_ back into a short sword; I grip it tightly in my right hand as I back away from the Mother Widow, who is currently shaking it's body in an attempt to get it's bearings. Very soon however, she stops shaking and turns to me and no doubt notices that I'm no longer holding the thing that makes things go boom. With another shriek, she charges straight for me.

Jumping out of the way, I try to slash at a passing leg and miss completely as well as fall to the ground. Getting up, I see that the Widow is continuing her charge towards Arnold who manages to not only jump out of the way, but also burn and freeze several parts of her with my guns and I hear her squeal in pain.

 _'Maybe we can actually do this...'_

Sprinting to my friend, I see that one of the Mother Willows legs is frozen to the ground and am then struck with an idea as she struggles.

"Hey..." I say tiredly as I approach. "If I can keep her in one place long enough... will you be able to freeze her to the ground?"

Arnold gives me a tired look. "I can certainly try... but you will have to be quick. The ice will not hold for long."

Nodding, I turn to leave before I am stopped by Arnold who shoves _Ebony_ into my free hand.

"You are going to need more than a blade."

 _'Yeah, this is a bad idea...'_

Nodding to my friend for what is probably the last time, I sprint right in front of the Widow who is still trying to get free.

"HEY BITCH! OVER HERE!"

At the sound of my voice, the Widow stops trying to get free and immediately stabs towards me with a free leg. Moving out of the way, I fire _Ebony_ into her eyes before dodging another leg. Once again, my world becomes filled with spider legs and fangs as I duck and weave while slashing and shooting. I hear Arnold firing only when I think that he's sure he'll make the shot and almost every shot freezes a leg in place.

"NOW!" Arnold screams after a final shot and I am pleased to see the Widow's many legs frozen to the ground.

However, in one last act of defiance, the Widow manages to maneuver what I think is it's abdomen and fire a web directly onto my chest.

 _'Fuck...'_

Immediately, I am pulled toward the Widow who opens her fangs with glee and I hear Arnold shooting at her in vain.

Despite my fear... I feel something click as images of all my friends appears in my mind as if my short life on Remnant was flashing before my eyes. Then a deep voice speaks in my mind.

 **'Are you going to let yourself die here? After everything she did for you?'**

 _'The fuck? Who's she?'_

Despite my confusion, something else shifts in my subconscious and I feel my Aura draining as the world slows around me.

 **'I shall accelerate your growth one last time human. Behold, your Semblance! Use it to destroy all who dare oppose you! Now... finish it!**

Focusing my attention once again on the Mother Widow, I stab _Kira_ into the Widows mouth with as much force as I can muster; and as I hear the Mother begin to screech, I point _Ebony_ directly at the Widows many eyes and I fire.

I fire until I have no more bullets.

I hear the voice laughing with glee as my Aura drains to almost nothing and the world returns to normal. The forward momentum continues and I find myself painfully colliding with the face of the blinded and dying Widow. Her piercing screeches assault my ears as I lie upon her bleeding head, unable to move.

 _'Whatever the fuck that was... just drained the shit out of me...'_

Suddenly, I am dragged off the Widow by someone and I am happy to see Arnold as he cuts me free of the web, helps me stand and moves me away from the screeching monstrosity.

Once we are at a safe distance, Arnold and I watch wordlessly as the final screams of the Widow become gurgles and her body finally falls to the ground dead.

 _'Nowhere near as flashy or as competent as team RWBY or JNPR but I'll take it.'_

"Are you alright my friend?"

 _'My body is sore, I'm tired, I'm covered in Widow blood, I've got a voice in my head that pretty much screams 'crazy' and I somehow managed to slow time for about 5 seconds at the cost of most of my aura.'_

"Just peachy." I say with a grimace. "Can we go get my weapons and get the hell out of here before the deity that hates me finally succeeds in fucking killing me today?"

Arnold laughs before giving me a tired smile. "Indeed." Arnold hands me _Ivory_. "Let us retrieve your things then meet up with our allies."

 _'A bunch of people who can kick more ass than me is certainly sounding good right now. Hopefully they'll be willing to give me a short break. Surely Ruby's decapitated the Nevermore by now?'_

Taking a step towards the dead Grimm, I suddenly feel my legs saying _'no'_ and I painfully fall on my face.

"Shit!... Okay, I'm not peachy... My legs just said 'fuck no'..."

I hear Arnold laughing before he kneels down to my side. "Very well. You may rest and I will retrieve your weapons."

"That would be nice..." I say tiredly.

Arnold stands back up and I hear him walk away and I feel my eyes growing heavy.

 _'God am I tired...'_

…

 _'Am I really cut out for this?'_

Forcing myself to stay awake, I push myself over on my back to stare at the clear blue sky. It is strangely peaceful... almost like there are no Grimm. No Salem...

Just a beautiful clear blue sky...

Feeling myself smile I stared wordlessly into the sky and just reveled in the fact that I was alive.

Despite everything that happened today, I was alive.

Hearing footsteps approaching, I look to see Arnold who gently places my sword and pistol next to _Ivory_ ; which I guess I dropped when I fell on my face. Afterwords, Arnold moves to my left before sitting down on the forest floor.

Looking back into the sky, I let my smile grow. "We did it..."

"That we did..."

Raising my left fist, I hold it until I feel Arnold give me a fist bump and I allow my arm to fall. We sit in comfortable silence as we allow ourselves to finally rest.

 _'We fucking did it...'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

"Our allies are coming, they sound distressed" Arnold says as he begins to stand.

 _'I don't hear shit... Damn faunus hearing.'_

"No shit, the last time they saw us we were being dragged by an oversized spider." I feel myself grimace. "They're probably worried sick."

 _'And because I recognize a misunderstanding cliché when I see one...'_

"Hey, can you tell them I'm fine and that the blood covering my entire body is not in fact mine? I'd rather not worry Ruby and Yang more than I already have."

Arnold gives me an understanding smile before heading back in the direction of the collapsed bridge. Forcing myself to sit up, I grab _Ivory_ and, after checking for ammo, begin to watch the forest around me.

 _'Just because that thing is dead doesn't mean the Grimm are all gone.'_

Once again fighting off my fatigue I remain vigilant until I finally hear the voices of my friends. They seem anxious though not panicky; so thankfully I guess that means Arnold explained the situation.

As my friends voices enter the clearing I turn my head and feel myself relax at their very presence. Unlike Arnold and I, they all look relatively clean and unharmed. Raising my free hand into the air, I call out to my allies.

"Hey guys! How ya doing?"

Everyone but Arnold looks at me in surprise as I smile tiredly. I am soon painfully knocked over however, by a very concerned looking Ruby as rose petals fall around us.

 _'Does she really need to use her Semblance? Fuckin hell...'_

Ruby gives me a hug while she talks quickly. 'Areyoualright?WesawyougetdraggedawaybytheWidowandwecouldn'thelpandthenweweredestractedandthenwe-

 _'Fuck I'm not even gonna try to understand any of that.'_

Giving Ruby a reassuring pat on the back I interrupt her. "I'm fine Little Red, just a bit tired." Letting go, Ruby looks at me with a relieved look on her face. Unfortunately it looks like I got some Grimm blood on her clothes. "And it looks like I'm in extreme need for a shower, sorry Ruby."

Ruby shakes her head furiously before giving me a kind smile. "It's fine!"

"Nora get down from there!" says a very exasperated Ren.

Turning my head, I see Nora standing at the top of the dead Mother Widow. Standing upon it heroically with a mock look of seriousness as if she herself had killed it.

"Very impressive." Says Pyrrha with a smile as she looks between Arnold and I. "Defeating a Widow is not an easy feat."

Arnold looks he could die right now and not care one bit. Inwardly I feel about the same. Giving Pyrrha a friendly smile I jab a finger towards the dead Grimm.

"It really wasn't, though I wish it _had_ been a little easier." I glare down at my messy clothes as I continue. "Fuck, I'm gonna have to find a washer for all this."

"It... It is dead right?" asks Jaune who is staring at the Widow like a deer in headlights.

"We froze it's legs to the ground, shoved a sword down it's throat and then riddled it's eyes with bullets. It fucking better be dead." I said with a grimace.

 _'Writer I swear to god if that thing is somehow not dead I will find a way to kick your ass.'_

"That seems... excessive." Weiss says as she gives me a curious look.

I shrug my shoulder. "It wouldn't fucking die. I'd rather it be overkill than still trying to kill us."

"Nora come on."

"No! This is mine now! I am it's queen!"

Turning my head to the commotion, I begin to laugh as I see Ren and Arnold struggling to pull Nora off oh the dead Widows head. Nora is not moving at all, so essentially Ren and Arnold look ridiculous.

"You guys do know that the Widows fangs are still poisonous right." Blake says while staring at the three like they're idiots. Arnold immediately yelps and lets go. Unfortunately since he was pulling on Nora, he falls off the spider with an 'oomph'.

Before I'm able to laugh, I'm suddenly pulled into an uncomfortable headlock by Yang, who has somehow managed to approach without my knowing.

"I guess I worried for nothing!" she says with a wide smile.

"Yang, could you let me go? I'm still really sore here."

Yang's face becomes for several seconds before she smiles widely. "Nope!"

"Yaaaanngggg..." I hear Ruby whine.

"Not to break up the childish behavior, but shouldn't we be getting back to Ozpin?" I hear Weiss ask. She sounds irritable.

 _'Oh no, the Weiss bomb! Everyone hit the deck!'_

Yang seems to have a realization and shouts "Oh yeah!" before letting me go and dropping me headfirst into the ground.

"Ow..." Turning to glare at Yang, she at least to her credit gives me a sheepish smile. Standing up and mentally cheering that my legs seem to be able to support me just fine now, I nod at Weiss.

"Yeah, I'd rather not stay in a forest full of Grimm any longer then I have to. Plus, I _really_ want to get off all this blood."

Finally Nora jumps off the spider, causing Ren to fall to the ground as well, and points towards the forest. "To the cliffs my subjects!" she calls before she begins to skip to the forest.

 _'How does Ren have enough stamina to deal with her?'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Finally the day was over and I was standing with my friends in Beacon's auditorium. Ozpin had once again helped me and gave me directions to Beacon's really large Laundry Room. So currently as my clothes washed, I was dressed in Beacon's uniform. Not exactly comfortable, but it was clean.

I watch Ozpin as he announces each new team, we only go through several I don't recognize until Ozpin's announcements goes into familiar territory for me.

" **Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark."** I see the images of the four named students appear on the auditoriums screen and clap politely along with the cheering crowd. **"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"**

The Audience continues to cheer as I watch the future team JNPR faces appear on screen. I smile happily as I watch them walk on stage.

" **Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."**

I clap happily with the audience and I laugh as I watch Nora hugs Ren.

 _'I ship it.'_

" **Led by... Jaune Arc!"**

The audience and I continue to cheer, though I know exactly what is being said on stage.

"Huh? L-Led by...?"

"Congratulations, young man."

I watch Pyrrha smile as she give Jaune a friendly shoulder bump, but laugh as I see him knocked over before landing on his ass.

Next, I see Team RWBY's faces appear on the screen and my smile doesn't falter a bit.

 **Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!"**

Weiss looks towards Ruby in surprise as Yang goes over to hug her sister. As the audience and I clap, I stare at Weiss and feel myself frown.

 _'Despite everything else, I guess she's still gonna be pissed that she's not the team leader.'_

As Team RWBY leaves the stage. The audience finishes clapping as Ozpin clears his throat.

" **Normally that would be our final team of the night. However, there have been two last minute entries to our prestigious Academy. Because of that, there are now two students with no team. However, sending them away would be a waste of potential.**

I curiously watch as my face as well as Arnold appears on screen. Looking at Arnold in confusion, he gives me a confident smile before heading to the stage and I follow him despite my confusion.

 _'What does he know that I don't?'_

Arriving on stage, Arnold and I stand in our spots as we look at Ozpin.

" **In response to the increase in potential students, I placed only two of a certain piece. Arnold Campbell. Toby Lawliet. The two of you retrieved the white pawn pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as equal members of Team AT. Lead each other to victory and help each other as a true leader would."**

The audience cheers and I smile as I hear Yang giving a wolf-whistle. Turning to my new partner, we give each other a fist bump as we smile as wide as possible.

 _'A two man team with no leader huh? Well... I guess I did say not to break up the canon teams.'_

As the audience cheers. I see Ozpin looking at all the newly formed teams before speaking to himself.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year."

 _'You've got that right Ozpin. Let's just hope I can make it less of a shit-show this time around.'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

After the ceremony, the teams all headed to the Cafeteria for dinner. Shortly upon arriving and getting my food, Ruby grabbed Arnold and I before rushing us over to the same table that I was expecting. The table for Teams RWBY and JNPR.

And now the Table for Team AT as well.

This was really happening.

Sitting between the two teams. I see Arnold sit across from me.

 _'Did they leave a spot for us?'_

"So how does it feel to be the only two-man team in Beacon's history?" Pyrrha asks with a smile.

Arnold who has already shoved something steak- like in his mouth, gives Pyrrha a very happy thumbs up. Laughing quickly, I look back at Pyrrha.

"Well, I imagine the lack of two member's means we're gonna have to work harder but... I'm happy with the way things turned out. Nothing like a giant spider trying to kill you to help you bond you know"

Pyrrha gives me a friendly smile. "I'd imagine so."

 _'Oh yeah, I haven't really introduced myself to three fourths of Team JNPR yet.'_

"My name is Toby Lawliet. What's yours?"

Pyrrha seems surprised and I hear Arnold speaking through his food.

"Hwe hash hamnesia."

I grab my spoon a lightly bop Arnold on the head. "Dude, it's rude to talk with your mouth full."

Arnold gives me an apologetic smile before swallowing his food and speaking more clearly. "He has amnesia. He said his memory only goes back... two weeks?"

Forcing myself to look down I try to sound bitter. "Yep that sounds about right."

Pyrrha gives me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, I can't imagine what that feels like. My name is Pyrrha Nikos."

 _'God I hate lying.'_

Making myself smile. "Well, so far it hasn't been so bad. I'm making a life here, just in case there's nothing to find." Looking towards Ren and Nora I give a friendly smile. "And to finish introductions... I'm still Toby Lawliet. Can I know you guy's names?"

Ren smiles and bows his head slightly. "My name is Ren."

"NORA!" No points if you guess who said that.

Smiling, I point to Arnold... Who is currently got the other half of his steak in his mouth. I sigh to myself before speaking to the whole table.

"The guy with no table manners is Arnold. I promise his manners are usually much better."

"I don't think he's the only one with bad table manners." Blake sounds annoyed.

Turning my head, I can see Yang demolishing a steak in much of the same way while Ruby shovel's various foods and cookie's down her throat.

 _'Well... alright then.'_

"Behave you two!" Weiss barks at her teammates with a scowl on her face.

"I'm shorry!" Ruby says with a mouthful of food. Yang just smiles at Weiss before continuing to murder her steak.

Sighing at the sight, I pick up and apple from my plate and take a bite.

 _'… How is that so fresh?'_

I don't know why, but this apple tastes better than any I ever had on Earth. Staring at the apple in wonder, I saver every single bite as I enjoy an evening with my new friends.

 _ **END OF CHAPTER FIVE**_


	6. Chapter 6

_A reviewer has brought to my attention that in the first chapter, I should have made Toby play it cool and not ramble on. They also mentioned that all I did was make Toby look stupid and suspicious. That was sorta my intention. Ozpin isn't stupid and would most likely check everything that Toby said, so... I just made Toby sorta tell the truth. Ozpin has his reasons for keeping Toby close at the moment._

 _As for playing it cool... Toby is more like that guy who tries REALLY hard to be cool and just isn't. He also isn't that good at lying. The only reason it's worked so far is that no one has really forced him into a corner._

 _I hope this helps show what my thought process was. And I'm really sorry that you found Toby annoying. You did bring up some good points that I think I should address later in the story so I will start working towards that._

 _Thank you for your review. :)_

 _ **Chapter Six**_

 _ **School?!**_

My first morning starts suddenly as I hear the sound of an incredibly loud whistle coming from down the hall. Shooting up in surprise, I groan after my head collides with the top of my bunk bed. That's better than Arnold though, who not only yelped at the sound of the whistle, but also fell off of the top bunk and onto the floor.

Fighting my already emerging headache, I yawn to myself. "Morning Man. You okay?"

Arnold who is still face down in the floor responds though the floor muffles his response. "Yef."

 _'I guess that means yes?'_

Forcing myself out of bed, I stretch as I stand and wince because I still feel incredibly sore. Sorting through what I needed to do today, something clicked in my brain.

 _'I have to go to school again! I fucking graduated back on Earth and I still have to go to school again!'_

"Fuuuuuuuuuuucccccckkkkk..." I groan to myself.

Arnold pops his head up to look at me. "What is the matter?"

"The part of the brain I mentally repressed just remembered we have class today."

Arnold also groans before allowing his head to fall back to the floor.

 _'Well... I guess I should get ready.'_

"Do you mind if I use the shower first?"

"Numf."

 _'I assume that's a no? Dude, stop talking to me through the floor.'_

"Okay, thanks man." Standing up, I go to retrieve the uniform the school provided and head to the bathroom. Placing the uniform on a nearby rack used for towels, I lock the door before looking myself in the mirror. It still feels weird you know? Looking in the mirror and seeing someone who isn't me.

 _'Or I guess that is me now...'_

I still look like the brother the writer is trying to make me. Same silver eyes and black hair with red tips. Currently I'm wearing the night clothes Ozpin provided; a loose fitting white long sleeved shirt and loose gray pants.

 _'I really need to remember to thank Ozpin for all the help he's giving me.'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

With myself now dried and clean, I emerge from the bathroom dressed in my school uniform. I look at Arnold who is still dressed in his nightclothes, a blue short-sleeved shirt with a paw-print on it and black shorts.

"Showers free dude, enjoy. I left plenty of hot water."

Arnold gives me a thankful smile before grabbing his uniform. "Thank you my friend." He says before heading to the bathroom.

As I hear the door shut, I look around my room. Arnold got to decorating early last night so I can see a few posters for movies I've never heard of. Because of my lack of well... stuff, the only thing of mine is my backpack that is currently sitting on our work desk. A backpack that contained my Laptop, my laptop charger, some notebooks the school provided as well as pens... and for some reason a flashlight.

Speaking of the charger, I was happy to learn that Remnant still has outlets for me to plug into. I don't know the science behind it but I don't think I care. I'm just glad to have access to my large library of music.

 _'I should probably look into moving my music to something more portable though... Oh, that reminds me...'_

There was one more thing I owned now.

Moving to the desk, I pick up the strange yet familiar device that is my new scroll. The staff gave these things to all the teams last night... Well at least to the students that didn't own one.

 _'Something else I owe Ozpin for.'_

Opening it, I see a holographic screen appear.

 _'I guess I should learn how to work this thing.'_

I spend several minutes playing with the scroll and I'm happy to discover that it works similarly to a phone with a touch screen. What did surprise me though, is that I already have Arnold and Ozpin's contact info on my scroll.

 _'He really is going the extra mile for me isn't he. I'm starting to feel kinda bad.'_

The bathroom door opens as I close my scroll. Looking up, I see Arnold newly refreshed dressed in his uniform giving me a wide smile. "Are you ready for classes?"

Groaning to myself, I nod before putting my scroll in my pocket and retrieving my backpack.

"I am sure it will not be that bad my friend. It will be over before you know it."

As we step out into the hallway, Arnold uses his scroll to lock the door before we head out down the hall.

"Yeah. I guess your right. At least in school I don't have a giant fucking spider trying to kill me."

We had only managed to walk passed two dorms when I hear a voice shriek from a dorm on my left.

"It's 8:55, you dunce!"

The door slams open and Arnold and I are barely able to move out of the way of a sprinting Weiss. I see Ruby, Yang and Blake poking their heads out before another door opens to show all of Team JNPR peeking out.

Ruby looks flabbergasted before finally shouting. "To class!"

Ruby sprints down the hall, followed quickly by Yang and then Blake.

"Class...?" Jaune says in horror before losing his balance and falling. This also topples Nora, Pyrrha and Ren who fall on top of him. Somehow Jaune is able to crawl out and run after Team RWBY. "We're gonna be late!" As he runs, the rest of Team JNPR follow after him.

Arnold looks horrified. "Did she just say 8:55?"

"Son of a bitch!" I turn to Arnold. "We gotta hurry!"

We begin running after our friends and we only catch up when we reach the courtyard. As we run towards the classrooms, I happen to see Glynda and Ozpin. Glynda looks at her watch in disappointment as Ozpin just sips his coffee.

Waving at Ozpin, I shout. "I promise I won't make a habit of this!"

Ozpin just smiles and continues to drink his coffee.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

We made it to class just before the bell and collectively sighed in relief. Well, at least after we all panted in attempts to catch our breath. Looking up, I saw that we had found ourselves in the class of Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck; who was looking at us with a frown.

"Ah... Team's RWBY, JNPR and AT..." He pushed up his glasses before taking a sip of his coffee. "Nice of you to join us! Now if you will please find your seats, we can get this lesson started."

In a panic, Teams RWBY and JNPR ran to the only empty seats left. You know, their canon seats. Arnold and I looked at the only remaining seats in rising dread as we maneuvered our way to them. Why? Because these seat's were directly behind Cardin Fucking Winchester.

" _Are you fucking kidding?!"_ As I took my seat, I glared at the table while pretending it was the writer of this shitty fic. _'Why are you shoving Cardin down my throat?! Do you like seeing me pissed or something?!'_

Cardin sneers at us before turning his attentions back to the front of the class, where Oobleck has begun speedily writing something on the whiteboard. Glaring at Cardin head in response I put my backpack down at my feet before turning to Arnold and seeing him shaking slightly as he looks at Cardin in fear.

 _'Oh yeah... Arnold did mention Cardin's been picking on him for a while...'_

Putting a calming hand on Arnold's arm, he jumps slightly before looking at me. "Yes?"

Getting closer I whisper. "Calm down man. He's not gonna try any shit. I won't let him. Just focus on class."

Arnold seems hesitant but nods anyway before taking a calming breath and looking towards the front. Removing my arm, I move back into my seat and also looking ahead.

Oobleck seemingly dashes away, without moving his legs I might add, from the whiteboard and I see "The Great War" written in black ink.

"The first subject we will be covering is fairly recent! A terrible war that lasted ten very long years... However, before we can study the war itself, we must first examine the century before! A tension filled time that exploded into what is now know as... The Great War!"

 _'Oh shit, I'm gonna need notes!'_

Zipping open my backpack, I grabbed a random notebook and pen and shorthanded a quick sentence.

 _The Great War- Ten years_

Looking back up, I see that Oobleck has once again moved to the whiteboard and quickly wrote down the phrase _Mistral_.

 _'Isn't that a country or something?'_

It turned out I wasn't far off and felt myself smile. I think I was gonna like this class. I always had a knack for history growing up and I feel really glad to be starting the day on a relative high note.

Despite the fact that I was almost late for class and that I most likely would have to sit behind Cardin from now on...

 _'Well... for this class anyway.'_

…

 _'Holy Crap is that Velvet?'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

After lunch, the next class was Professor Peach's class... Well at least... I _think_ it's his or hers class, The sign on the door said it and everything! However as we take our seats, Team RWBY on the first row followed by Team JNPR on the next and then Arnold and I as well as a few other students... The one standing at the front of the class was none other than Glynda Goodwitch.

 _'My memory of this show may not be picture perfect but... doesn't she teach combat?'_

Once all the students had taken their seats, the school bell assaulted our ears. Once the accursed thing shut up, Glynda cleared her throat.

"It seems Professor Peach has somehow managed become sick on our first day." Glynda said with obvious annoyance. "So I shall be teaching this class for awhile, as well as Combat Training next period. So lets just move on shall we?"

After doing a quick role-call, I watch as Glynda moves to the whiteboard before writing "Dust" in black marker.

 _'Oh cool! I've been wondering how that shit works!'_

"Now..." Glynda says. "Who can tell me the four basic types of Dust?"

 _'Holy shit! A question I actually know!'_

Several hands shoot up. The most notable being Weiss, Ruby, Arnold and my own. Arnold looks at me in confusion and I smile at him and mouth _"I actually know the answer!"_. In response, Arnold chuckles before dropping his hand.

 _'I guess he decided to humor me.'_

Glynda scans the class before her eyes land on me, she seems slightly surprised though I guess that just means she heard about my 'Doesn't remember anything' excuse.

"Mr. Lawliet?" she calls before folding her arms impatiently.

I am unable to keep the excitement of my face as I respond. "The four main types are Wind, Fire, Water and Lightning!"

Glynda seems amused by my excitement and I swear I see a ghost of a smile on her face. "Correct." She says before she begins to write the four down on the whiteboard. Finished, she turns back to the class. "And who can tell me the two states that Dust is commonly found in?"

Weiss raises her hand immediately.

"Mrs. Schnee?"

"Crystalline and Powdered." Weiss states like it's common knowledge.

 _'As far as I know, it probably is...I'm gonna need another notebook.'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Now it was time for the class that I didn't know I was dreading until I was already here...

Combat Class...

 _'Fuck me running, I'm still sore dammit.'_

Much to my surprise, the class was going to be held in the same place we were assigned our teams. Which... honestly makes sense when I think about it.

At the moment all us student are just standing in front of the stage watching Glynda who is on the stage. We watch as she types several things in her scroll before looking down at us.

"Today we will be simply going through several combat scenario's. Tomorrow, the real work begins."

I sigh to myself silently before smiling.

 _'Don't think I didn't see that bone you just threw me writer type person. Metaphorical fist bump.'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Finally we were in Professor Port's classroom. Team RWBY and Team JNPR ended up in their original spots and I was pleasantly surprised to see Arnold and I were sitting in the row directly behind Team RWBY.

Looking at the boards in front of the class, I saw illustrations of several Grimm. The ones I could recognize being the Death Stalker, Beowolf, Boarbatusk and the Ursa.

 _'I don't see any Widow's though.'_

I am pulled out of my thought as Port begins his lecture.

"Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!"

 _'I swear I can literally hear the cricket that makes sounds when a joke isn't funny.'_

After some silence, Port continues. "Uhhhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely _teeming_ with creatures that would like nothing more to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." I watch Port give Yang a wink and I hear her groan uncomfortably.

 _'Okay, that is not cool. This guy is a teacher?'_

Port continues. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what you ask? Why, the very world!"

A student in the back of the class cheers and everyone, including myself, turn to stare at him. He seems to have stood and victoriously risen his fist in the air. After awhile, he sits back down embarrassed and the class looks back to Professor Port.

Port continues with the lesson. "That is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young and handsome man... Me!"

 _'...What?'_

"When I was a boy-"

I watch as Port manages to tell a story in a way that is so boring that I almost seriously consider banging my head into something sharp just to end the pain.

 _'So... boring... How can a story about killing Grimm be so... boring...'_

I hear Ruby snicker and look down a row and see her holding a badly drawn sketch of Professor Port. Only it has stink lines coming out of him and Ruby has named him 'Professor Poop'. She shows it to her teammates first and I hear Yang and Blake laughing. Ruby then turns very excitedly and shows it to me and Arnold.

Looking at it again, I smile and give Ruby a raised eyebrow as Arnold starts to laugh.

Port sees us laughing and clears his throat in irritation. Once he is sure he has everyone's attention again he continues with his story.

"In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity and I returned to my village with my head held high, celebrated as a hero!" Port takes a bow.

 _'Kill me now...'_

As Port moves back to his standing position, he continues the lesson. "The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated and wise!"

 _'Well-educated and wise? Well fuck, I may as well leave right now then. I barely even passed High School.'_

Port continues. "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Suddenly, Weiss raises her hand and Arnold, who is right behind her, has to lean back to not get hit. "I do, sir!"

 _'Oh shit... Weiss's leader envy.'_

Port turns to gesture at a cage at the very left side of the front of the classroom. "Well then, let's find out! Step forward, and face your opponent!"

 _'How long has that fucking thing been there?! I swear that wasn't there before!'_

Looking around though, no one seems to be surprised by the cage so... I guess I just managed to not notice a GIANT FUCKING CAGE...

 _'But still...'_

Weiss leaves to retrieve her equipment and I lean over to Arnold.

"Hey man... Has that cage been here the whole time?"

Arnold gave me a curious look. "I believe so. Why?"

 _'Oh. I think this is what Matt would have called "failing a spot check"...'_

"Nevermind. Guess I'm just a little unobservant."

After awhile, I hear Ruby giggling and Arnold and I look and see her drawing something else. Whatever it is must be hilarious because she just can't seem to stop laughing. I see Yang lean over to see what she drew before she too starts laughing.

"I don't think Uncle Qrow would appreciate that!" Yang says as she continues laughing. "I think I might need to take a picture and send it to him!"

Ruby immediately gasps before ripping apart as fast as possible. So the air is soon filled with paper shreds and rose petals.

 _'Does she really need her Semblance for that?'_

Ruby points at Yang. "You saw nothing, you have no proof! Nothing!"

Hearing Blake sigh, I turn and see her wiping rose petals off of the book she was reading. Squinting, I see that she was still on The Hobbit; though she was fairly close to the ending.

 _'Here's hoping that Blake isn't opposed to nerdy discussions about the books she reads. It's been awhile since I could dork out over Middle- Earth stuff.'_

Finally after several more minutes, Weiss returns dressed in her battle attire. Getting in position, she readies _Myrtenaster_ as Professor Port retrieves his... Blunderbuss...Axe...Thing? It was literally a Blunderbuss with the Axe blades on the guns grip.

 _'How can he even fire that thing?'_

Port moves to the cage and I hear the Grimm inside begin to growl.

Yang raises her fist in the air. "Go, Weiss!"

Blake who has not only put away her book but somehow spontaneously produced and begun waving a small flag that has 'RWBY' on both sides. "Fight well!"

 _'Where the fuck did she even get that?'_

"Yeah! Represent Team RWBY!" cheers Ruby as she throws her arms into the air.

Weiss lowers her rapier before giving Ruby a minor glare. "Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"

I see Ruby lower in her seat somewhat. "Oh, um... sorry."

Port clears his throat before holding his Axe thingy aloft. "Alright! Let the match... begin!"

Port swings his Axe down and breaks the lock, dropping the cage door and showing the class the Boarbatusk inside. Immediately, it charges at Weiss who in turn uses her rapier to deflect it's attack before rolling to the side. As she readies herself for it's next attack, I see the Grimm standing a distance away as it studies her.

"Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?"

" _I can assure you Mr. Port, at least one person in this room was expecting that very thing exactly."_

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby cheers.

Weiss speeds at the Boarbatusk and it in turn charges at her. Weiss stabs for it's face and the rapier is unfortunately caught in the Grimm's tusks. Weiss grimaces as she holds on to the hilt tightly and struggles to free her weapon.

"Bold new approach! I like it!" Port comments.

Ruby cheers again. "Come on Weiss, show it who's boss!"

Weiss turns to glare at Ruby and the Grimm reacts immediately. Turning it's head, it rips the rapier from Weiss's arms. I feel myself tense as her weapon lands far away from Weiss.

 _'Did this happen before? Or is this different?'_

"Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?' Port calls.

The Boarbatusk charges again and Weiss rolls out of it's path; causing the Grimm to crash into an empty desk. Immediately Weiss rushes back to her rapier and slides to get it back in her hand. I feel myself let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"Weiss!" Ruby calls. "Go for it's belly! There's no armor underneath-"

Weiss turns before cutting Ruby off. "Stop telling me what to do!"

I see Ruby sink into her seat again and feel a tinge of sympathy before the fight draws my attention. The Boarbatusk leaps into the air and rolls into a ball, spinning rapidly in the air before it lands on the ground. The speed of it's spin propelling it like Sonic the fucking Hedgehog towards Weiss. Just as it about to hit her, Weiss summons a blueish glyph to block it's roll. Through clever use of the glyphs, she launches herself before stabbing the rapier into the Boarbatusk stomach and the Grimm squeals before dying.

"Bravo!" Port congratulates. "Bra-vo! It appears we are _indeed_ in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" I see Weiss stand up in attention as Port continues. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and... stay vigilant!"

 _'Wait... what assigned readings?!'_

"Class dismissed!"

Weiss glares at Ruby one last time before walking hurriedly passed her teammates and exits the classroom.

"Sheesh, what's with her." I hear Jaune ask from JNPR's table.

Team RWBY looks at one another in confusion before Ruby quickly stands to run after Weiss.

 _'Should I go after her? I mean, if everything goes the way I remember it... then they should be fine.'_

 _'…'_

 _'But then again... the writer does have a tendency to change some shit so... just in case...'_

Patting Arnold's arm to get his attention, I begin to leave my seat. "Hey, can you do me a favor and ask Port what the assigned reading is for me?"

Arnold nods before giving me a questioning look. "What are you going to do?"

I shrug. "Gonna see what activated the Weiss bomb and then see if I can play peacemaker between the two of them again."

Arnold nods then tilts his head. "Again?"

"Tell you later." I say as I pass a confused Blake and Yang before exiting the classroom and jogging down the hallway the direction I saw Ruby go.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

I'd only been jogging for several seconds before I heard Ruby scoff. "What did I do?"

Turning the corner, I see the form of Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee.

"That's just it- you've done _nothing_ to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child and you've only continued to do so!"

 _'Okay no...'_

Walking up to them I let out a retort. "Ozpin wouldn't have let her in if she had done _nothing_. The fact she's here should speak volumes Weiss."

They turn to me surprise before Weiss glares at me. "This doesn't concern you."

I glare back. "Ruby's my friend and so are you Weiss. I think this does concern me."

Before Weiss can respond I hear Ruby speak. "Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team?"

Weiss's eyes are icy. "Not a team lead by _you_. I've studied and trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better." Weiss turns her back to Ruby and begins to walk away. Ruby reaches out her hand to the heiress before she says something that causes Ruby to drop her arm.

"Ozpin made a mistake."

I watch Weiss leave before mumbling to myself. "You're the one being childish..."

Looking at Ruby, she looks to be on the verge of tears and I rack my brain for something to say to her.

Until a voice speaks from behind us. "Hmm... Now that didn't seem to go very well."

Ruby and I turn and see none other than Ozpin.

"Is she right?" Ruby asks immediately. "Did you make a mistake?"

Ozpin laughs to himself slightly before looking between Ruby and I. "That remains to be seen."

 _'...I'm not sure that I like the implied double meaning behind that.'_

Ruby looks curious. "What do you mean?"

Ozpin gives Ruby a friendly smile. "I mean, it's only been one day. Ruby... I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet."

The voice rings in my head again. _**'No doubt...'**_

 _'What the fuck?!'_

Trying to act like nothing happened I continue to listen to Ozpin. "-at this moment, I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them." Ozpin leans closer to Ruby. "Do you?"

Ruby seems at a loss for words.

Ozpin continues. "Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you're not always performing at your absolute best, then what reasons do you give _others_ to follow you?"

Something about that causes Ruby to look thoughtful. Then after a couple seconds, she looks up at Ozpin with a smile.

Smiling to himself, Ozpin turns and begins to walk away. "You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility, Ruby. I advise you take some time, to think about how you will uphold it."

Ruby looks like she's pondering something before she turns to follow after Weiss. She walks several steps before stopping and looking at me. She still seems hesitant.

Smiling at the little reaper, I fold my arms. "It'll be fine Little Red. Go after her."

Ruby looks conflicted for several seconds before nodding and heading after Weiss with a new determination. Smiling to myself, I head the direction Ozpin went.

 _'If this goes the way I remember... then I don't think I'll really be needed. It seems everything is mostly going according to canon at the moment... So I guess I'll-'_

My thoughts are stopped by the sound of my stomach growling.

 _'- head to the cafeteria for dinner. Hopefully Arnold asked Port about the assigned readings and I can just ask him about it over dinner.'_

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Heading to our table, I gaze happily at my plate of food. I felt like something simple tonight so I grabbed the ingredients for a Ham Sandwich, an Apple and some Grapes. I seem to of gained a new appreciation for fruit. I don't know why it's just... everything seemed a little fresher here.

Before I could even sit down, Yang asked me the questions on the entire tables minds.

"What happened with Weiss back there? And where are they?"

Everyone's eyes are on me as I sit down and honestly it's a bit uncomfortable. "Weiss doesn't understand why Ozpin would pick Ruby instead of herself to lead Team RWBY. So she's a little steamed."

That seems to be enough info for Blake, who turns away and continues read her book. Yang however sighs in irritation before speaking again. "So... where are they?"

"I don't know. Ozpin gave Ruby some advice and she went after Weiss. From the looks of it... It looks like Ruby has the entire situation under control."

Yang smiles with what I can best describe as sisterly pride. "You go little sis!

Laughing a bit, I turn to Arnold. "Hey, did you ask Port about the reading?

Arnold nods before giving me a kind smile. "Indeed I did. Before we return to our dorm tonight, we must stop by the library and pick up a book titled-" Arnold stops and pulls a piece of paper from his pocket. "- _The Huntsman's Guide to Grimm Slaying._ "

I nod and watch as he returns the paper to his pocket. "Thanks for asking man. I'm sorry I ran out like that."

Arnold shakes his head. "It is fine. I needed to ask as well. It seems he mentioned it in passing during his story about himself."

Suddenly, Jaune leans in between us. "Wait, what was that about assigned reading?"

Laughing to myself, I smile as Arnold helps the leader of Team JNPR. Taking a bite of my apple, I find myself looking at our tables two empty seats.

 _'Did they have dinner during this episode off screen? If I remember correctly, Ruby falls asleep studying and Weiss just gets coffee...'_

"Hey, I'll be right back. I need to get something from the kitchen before it closes."

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

That night, I force myself to stay up until I hear footsteps passing my dorm. Grabbing the two food filled paper bags from the mini-fridge, I open my door and pop my head out only to see Weiss entering her dorm. Moving out into the hallway, I close my door and wait for Weiss to return.

 _'If this follows what I remember, then she should.'_

After about two minutes I see team RWBY's dorm room open Weiss half-way step out.

"Hey, Ruby"

"Uh huh?"

"I always wanted bunk beds as a kid." She says as she closes the door. She turns before jumping slightly at the sight of me waiting outside my door.

"Good afternoon." She says awkwardly.

"Likewise," I say. "Come here for a sec."

Weiss seems to wince slightly before walking over. "I am sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was out of line."

 _'Does she think I'm mad?'_

Shaking my head, I give her a curious look. "Have you had dinner tonight?"

Weiss seems confused. "Um... no. Why?"

"Has Ruby eaten anything?"

Weiss shakes her head. "I don't know. Once again, I must ask. Why?"

Holding out the paper bags, I explain. "I got some dinner for you guys just in case. I don't really know what you liked so In just got some fruit and some water. Ruby was easy, I just got her some milk and cookies. I know it's not much of a dinner... but I figured it was better than going to bed hungry."

Weiss take's the bags with a curious look. "Why not just give these to my teammates? Instead of staying up waiting for me?"

I give Weiss a smile. "Because I didn't want to go to bed without fixing things with one of my friends. So... we good?"

Weiss nods with a smile. "Of course. Thank you for this."

I smile in response before opening my door. "And on that note, I think I'll be going to bed. Goodnight Weiss."

"Goodnight Toby." Weiss says before she moves to... wherever it was she was going originally.

 _'Finally, now I can freaking change and go to bed. Weiss did have a point though... Why didn't I just give the bags to Yang and tell her to say it was an apology?'_

 _'…'_

 _'Well, that's about right. God forbid I use my common sense.'_

 _ **END OF CHAPTER SIX**_

 _Okay, so I've altered the ending. I just wasn't satisfied with it... So I hope this is better._

 _A reviewer pointed out that a lot of OC inserts have friends named Matt. And while Matt's name is somewhat based on my best friend in Real Life..._

 _It got me laughing because I thought of a scenario where like this one guy named Matt is best friends with a bunch of random people who just keep disappearing because they all get sucked into different universes and stuff._

 _In short, Matt is cursed. :)_


	7. Chapter 7

_Just FYI I have no idea how Lien works. So I went online and found someones theory on it. So that's what I'm going with. Also, sorry it took me so long to update. This is also my first time making an entire chapter without any guide from the actual show so... I hope it's okay? I hope you enjoy it. (Also, I'm having a little trouble incorporating everyone and keeping them in character so I hope I haven't messed up anyone's personality._

 _ **Chapter Seven**_

 **Sparring**

 **'BEEP BEEEP BEEP BEEEP BEEP' The loudest alarm I've ever heard sounds out from it's place on our work desk.**

"What the fuck!?" I jump awake in alarm before wincing and covering my ears. I hear a shout of pain from the bunk above me. In between beeps, I hear Arnold start to whimper.

… Like a dog.

Moving to silence the fucking noise maker, I curse as I get my limbs tied in my blankets. Shouting as I fall to the floor, I find myself unable to free myself from the blankets of doom.

"TURN IT-" ' **BEEP'** "-OFF!" Arnold shouts at me in a strange tone.

I ignore the pain in my still sore body as I wiggle in a futile attempt to free myself. "I'm... trying!"

A few more useless flailing occurs before I shout in frustration. Turning on my stomach, I move myself like a caterpillar to get to the damn alarm. Once I reach the table, I move around in the blanket before managing to free one single arm. Reaching up for the alarm, I groan in frustration when I see that I can't reach it.

"FUCK!" Reaching for the alarms cord, I yank as hard as I can. One tug later and the infernal beeping stops. Though that isn't the end of the noise...

Other than the sounds of Arnold's whimpers, I also hear very loud knocking. "What's going on in there!?"

Arnold groans and I roll in my position on the floor to see him glare in the direction of the door before taking in my trapped appearance. Sighing to himself, he climbs down the bunk ladder and goes to open the door.

When the door opens, I see Teams RWBY and JNPR still in their pajamas. Weiss looks to be extremely annoyed, Ruby and Yang look more curious than anything and Blake looks like she's in tremendous pain.

 _'Oh shit... Faunus hearing... No wonder Arnold was whimpering.'_

…

 _'Stop staring at her legs goddammit! Look elsewhere!'_

Moving on to Team JNPR, and ignoring the new heat on my face, they seemed less effected by the noise. Though notably Jaune looked like he was about to fall back asleep and Pyrrha was just looking at me in concern.

"What was that noise?!" Weiss says hotly.

Arnold winces again. "That would have been our alarm Ms. Schnee. I set it to max setting before bed and-" He turns to glare at the offending object next to me. "-I was unaware of the fact that it was so _loud_."

Weiss simmers down a bit as Arnold rubs his ears and Pyrrha pick that moment to speak. "Are you... alright." She says to me.

I give a tired smile. "My ears hate me but... yeah. I'm alright. Just pathetically trapped in my blankets but... whatever."

I hear Ruby and Yang start to giggle. "You look like a Burrito." Ruby says with a smile.

I give her a mock glare. "Duh, that's the point of a blanket burrito. Well... that and being very comfortable."

Arnold fold his arms before giving me a coy smile. "And the lack of maneuverability evidently."

I turn my mock glare to Arnold. "Oh Ha-ha." Maneuvering again, I finally have enough sense to roll to unwrap myself from my comfy prison. Finally free, I stand with a smile...

Which immediately becomes a grimace. _'Why the fuck am I still so sore?'_

Trying to ignore the pain, I give the Teams an apologetic look. "Sorry if we woke you guys up."

Weiss turns her still annoyed gaze to me before she sighs. "I suppose it's fine. I was about to get up anyway."

Blake however still looks annoyed. "Just turn it down please.", she says flatly.

Nodding, I crouch down and pick up the noise maker. Standing again, I give everyone a smile. "We'll deal with it."

Blake seems satisfied and nods before trying to quietly rub her bow. An action which significance is not lost on me. Surprisingly, I see Arnold raise an eyebrow before understanding dawns in his eyes.

 _'Oh, shit. Don't you dare say anything about her being a faunus! It's not time yet!'_

Suddenly, the sound of a stomach growling gets everyone's attention and we turn to the source. A very sheepish Ruby poking her index fingers together. Hilariously, another stomach groans as if in response and the source is none other than Weiss Schnee who has started blushing for some reason.

"I... think we might be hungry." Ruby says with a sheepish smile.

My stomach also sounds in response and I laugh. "Yeah, I think we should probably head to breakfast before our stomachs rebel against us."

Suddenly, Nora jumps in the air and shouts. "Last ones a rotten egg!" Before she can charge however, she is suddenly stopped by Ren who grabs her arm.

"Perhaps we should change first?" He says before sighing as Nora gives him a boop on the nose in response. Team JNPR soon makes a move to return to their dorm. However, Pyrrha does have to guide Jaune's half-asleep form back.

For some reason, only now do Team RWBY realize their state of dress and Weiss gets as red as a tomato. Wordlessly she turns and marches quickly back to her dorm. Ruby continues to look sheepish for several seconds before turning suddenly and pointing.

"To the dorm!", she suddenly shouts before running away. I watch as Blake turns to follow, though she doesn't seem to be in any hurry. Trying my best not to stare as she leaves my sight, I try to ignore the rising heat in my face.

Only one person still stands in the hallway. Yang is standing there with her arms crossed and a very amused look on her face...

...And she's looking right at me.

"See something you liked?" She teases, before laughing at my panicked expression.

I try to sputter out a response. "I- I didn't-"

"You are not subtle." Arnold says with a laugh.

 _'Not you too!'_

My face as red as it will probably ever be, I turn quickly and grab my school clothes off the desk. Because I fully intend to flee to the bathroom until this awkward situation passes.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Moving through the line, I grab the usual breakfast items. Bacon, ham and eggs. I do deviate from the norm slightly though and grab myself an apple.

 _'I have no idea why these taste so fresh here and I don't think I care.'_

Moving to my table, I find myself passing Team CFVY, Velvets team. I have to force down another fan-boy moment as I pass Velvet, Coco, Fox and Yatsuhashi. Instead I give them a polite smile and nod as I pass.

Taking my usual seat across from Arnold, I roll my eyes as I see him devouring his ham like it's prey. Looking down to my plate, I sigh in contentment after taking a quick bite of my apple and take in the sight of the mostly empty mess hall.

"Hey watch it!" I hear from the entrance before a laughing Cardin makes his way through the cafeteria, his cronies following behind him. Looking back outside, I can see a random girl with bear ears on the ground rubbing her arms as her emerald eyes glare daggers at Cardin through her brown locks. I see a girl approach her and offer her a hand and she swipes it away with a growl. "Leave me be _human!_ " I feel a chill down my spine as she stands and moves her way to get breakfast, glaring at as many of us as possible.

… Correction, the humans in the room. Myself included.

 _'This is so messed up. Even in Beacon... things are still this bad between humans and faunus?'_

Turning to my companions, I see similar looks of pity on their faces. Except for Weiss and Blake, who seems to have a haunted look in their eyes as they watch the girl. Turning to look back at said girl, I watch as she goes to sit next to a group of three faunus. All of them giving Cardin venomous looks.

'Well... that just happened." Yang says with a grimace.

"Indeed it did." Arnold says before looking somberly at his food. "It seems hate festers even here."

Staring at my friend wordlessly, I'm aware of the sounds approaching the mess hall.

It looks like the rest of Beacon is finally awake.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

The rest of the day was a typical day at Beacon and I soon found myself in Glynda's sparring class next to Arnold and Teams RWBY and JNPR. The incident from this morning was long out of my mind, replaced by notes and assignments.

And homework... lots and lots of homework...

Regardless, at the moment I watched Glynda scan the room from her position on the auditoriums stage. She types something into her scroll and two of the auditoriums screens light up. Looking back up, she pushes up her glasses before speaking.

"For most of you today will be your first real experience sparring against one another in a tournament styled match. The rules are as follows..." Glynda points to the screens. "The algorithm will randomly select two of the students present. When chosen, you will retrieve your equipment from your lockers and return to the stage. When the match begins, your Aura will be displayed on the screens above-" Glynda then holds up her scroll. "-as well as your scrolls. Do try to get into the habit of checking your aura during the matches." Letting her arms rest, she continues. "When one or both combatants aura falls in the red, I will call the match. Use whatever skills and weapons you have at your disposal to claim victory. Now... lets begin."

Pressing her scroll again, I watch as all the faces in my class zoom down the screen like a slot machine. Feeling the dread rising in my stomach, I tried again to ignore my still sore body.

 _'Okay writer... I read ALOT of fanfictions in my time. The OC **ALWAYS** gets paired to fight Yang... So here's the thing... I don't wanna die. So can you do me a huge fucking favor and NOT make me fight Yang?'_

Watching the screens, I see the one on the left slow down and stop on Arnold's student ID. Watching the screen on the right, I see the image stop on Ruby's pic.

 _'… Oh Arnold, ye will be missed.'_

Seeing the results Glynda looks up from her scroll. "Mr. Campbell, Ms. Rose- would you please retrieve your equipment for your first match."

Ruby practically flies off to the lockers and I watch as the rose petals she leaves behind lands all over the place and I find myself having to brush petals off my shoulders. I hear sounds of annoyance as several classmates (and Weiss) have to do the same.

Turning to look at my partner, I raise up a fist. "Good luck man."

Arnold looks less than enthused, but bumps my fist anyway with a quick smile. "I may need it. Ms. Rose has a very big scythe..."

"You'll be fine." Pyrrha assures with a smile."Just do your best and the rest will fall into place."

"Yeah!" Yang says with a smile. "And it's not like my sister's gonna kill you or anything!"

Standing, Arnold nods to us before leaving.

Several seconds pass, and when Arnold leaves the room, Nora suddenly leans over to look at everyone. "OK! Take your bets Teams! Who will win! Pot starts at Ten Lien!"

 _'...Is she kidding?'_

Ren sighs before shrugging at my questioning stare.

 _'Oh my god she's not kidding.'_

Weiss looks insulted. "Are you implying we should gamble on our own Teammates chances of victory?" Nora ticks her head to the side and nods.

"Yep!"

Weiss goes straight faced and much to my surprise, hands a blue card looking thing to Nora. "Ten Lien on Ruby."

"Ah... No fair Ice Queen!" Yang says before dramatically pouting.

Weiss looks offended. "Ice Queen!?"

"We have ten on Ruby! Step right up! Anymore bets?" Nora says before leaning on Ren. "Ren? Wanna bet?"

Ren doesn't miss a beat. "I'd rather not."

Nora frowns. "Fine Spoilsport!" Turning her gaze on me, she leans over with a smile. "Toby! Wanna bet! He is your partner after all!"

 _'Even if I could... I'm not sure it would be wise to vote AGAINST Ruby when money is involved. But that IS my partner... Why am I even thinking about this? I'm broke. Not a single penny to my name.'_

…

 _'Oh hell, now I'm depressed.'_

"I don't... have any Lien. So I couldn't even if I wanted to."

Nora grumbles before Yang leans over and tosses a similar card looking thing to Nora. "Fine! Ten Lien on Arnold! Lets go Ice Queen!"

"I still disagree with the nickname 'Ice Queen'!"

"I don't know." Jaune says with a smile. "I think it kinda fits."

Weiss glares at Jaune. "Shut it 'vomit boy'."

Jaune looks appalled. "Wha?- Who told you about that!?"

I hear Yang laugh nervously before clearing her throat.

Jaune turns his gaze on Yang. "Yang?! How could you?!"

Yang leans back slightly and waves her arms frantically while smiling sheepishly. "It just sorta slipped out?"

"How does that 'sorta slip out'?!" Jaune cries out in response.

I see Pyrrha lean around him with a confused look on her face. "Vomit boy?"

Jaune instantly looks panicked and turns on Pyrrha. "Oh! Ha- ha... Nothing, it's nothing! Nothing to concern yourself with! Nothing!"

I can't stop myself from laughing.

Jaune turns his gaze on me. "Toby! Not you too! Wait... How did you hear about that name!?" Jaune turns to glare at Yang who holds up her hands in innocence.

"Wasn't me this time."

"Then how?!"

 _'Well one, I've seen episode one... and two...'_

I cross my arms with a smile. "Ruby pointed you out to me before we met as... 'That guy who threw up on the ship!' or... something like that."

Pyrrha giggled slightly before giving him an understanding smile. "Airsickness?"

Jaune blushes before looking anywhere but at any of us. "Um... y-yeah."

Nora suddenly speaks. "Shh! Guys! They're on stage!"

All talking stopped and I along with my friends, turn to see Arnold and Ruby dressed in their combat gear. Glynda looks down and types something in her scroll before stepping off the stage and turning to watch the combatants.

"Begin!"

Ruby starts first, disappearing in a cloud of rose petals too fast for me to follow. Arnold in response, morphs his Duel Knives together to form an SMG before firing into the approaching rose petals. Ruby stops, now almost halfway to Arnold, and dashes to the side. She then zigzags the rest of the way to her target, all while Arnold tries in vain to shoot his incoming target. Right before Ruby attacks, Arnold quickly switches back to his Knives. Just in time too, as I watch him cross them just barely in time to block a slash from Crescent _Rose._ Sidestepping, Arnold releases his block _Crescent Rose._ I watchas the scythe falls downward and stabs into the ground, makes a slash towards Ruby. Expecting this, Ruby lifts herself off the ground and as Arnold slash hits air I see Ruby twirl around _Crescent Rose's_ long handle and kick Arnold right in the face, who falls over and rolls back into a standing position. Looking at the screen, I see Arnold's Aura go down from 100% to 98%.

 _'Damn! Based on what I've seen Aura do... How hard did she kick him?'_

Smirking Arnold charges again at Ruby, however I see him sheathe his left Knife.

 _'What is he doing?'_

Arnold holds his left hand out toward Ruby as well as slash his remaining knife at Ruby's torso. Ruby smirks, before beginning to dodge.

But then I see her eyes go wide when she realizes she can't move... and I feel myself smile.

 _'That clever...'_

The slash connects and I hear Ruby cry in slight pain as her Aura goes from 100% to 95%. However, Arnold releases his hold after that and Ruby jumps back warily.

"Why did Ruby just let him hit her?" Weiss asked with a puzzled look on her face. "That slash was sloppy. There was no form to it at all. A child could have dodged it."

I let myself chuckle. "She didn't."

Both Teams turn to look at me. "What do you mean?" Weiss asks.

"You just saw Arnold's Semblance. He can put things in some kinda stasis. Though for how long changes based on whatever it is he's freezing."

Weiss's eyes widen before she groans.

Yang laughs. "Yeah! Take that Ice Queen!"

"Stop calling me Ice Queen!"

Looking back at the stage, Ruby morphs _Crescent Rose_ into it's sniper form. Arnold charges, before raising his arm again and I see Ruby fire right before she goes into stasis. The bullet sores and Arnold moves to avoid it...

Only for it to hit him directly in the chest anyway and as he falls to the ground, I look up and see his Aura go from 98% to 68%.

 _'Oh damn! That must hurt like hell!"_

I feel myself wince and I hear Yang speak up. "Ow..."

 _'Indeed ow...'_

Weiss laughs. "Get him Ruby!"

Ruby looks up at Weiss and gives the biggest smile I think I've ever seen.

 _'Oh look, they're finally really getting along!'_

Arnold painfully stands with a grimace and I see Ruby give him a slight worried look. "Are you okay?"

Arnold chuckles. "As much as to be expected Ms. Rose. Now..." Arnold draws his second Knife. "Ready?"

Ruby nods before switching her scythe back to it's original form and I watch as they stare each other down. Ruby moves first, dashing and slashing at Arnold who barely dodges. His slashes in retaliation miss and soon they fall into a flurry of parry's and dodges as the sound of metal clangs reverberate through the room.

Once again, that feeling of displacement sounds in my mind as I watch them battle.

 _'Can I even keep up with this?'_

"This is... intense." Jaune states. Turning to look, I see his face has turned a strange shade of green. This detail is not missed by Pyrrha who sends him a worried look.

Oblivious to Jaune's state of being, Weiss responds while continuing to watch the fight. "That's what happens when huntsmen clash."

Jaune gulps and I see him turn to look back at the fight. I hear a shout from the battle and turn to see that Ruby had finally gotten another solid hit in. Arnold's Aura was now at 50%. I watch as Arnold stands he shifts his knives back into an SMG and smirks. He throws out an arm and freezes Ruby in place before firing directly at her. Ruby grimaces as the bullets connect and I watch as her Aura slowly falls from 95% to 55%. However, because Arnold's bullets use Aura themselves, I also see his Aura fall down to 45%.

"Toby?" Ren asks.

Turning to look at him I raise a questioning eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Are you informed as to why his Aura is falling despite taking no damage?"

"Oh yeah! Why is that happening?" Yang leans over to ask.

"Well... I don't know how-" I say before pausing. "But somehow his bullets are fused with his own Aura. Even when I had to use them back in the forest."

Weiss turns a puzzled gaze on me. "I've never heard of that before... Did he make them himself."

"I... think so?" I say unsure. "I think he may of mentioned something like that?"

The rain of bullets stop and when we turn our attention back to the fight, I see Arnold wiping sweat off his head and breathing hard. Ruby grimaces as she grasps her weapon and I swear I see the gears turning in her head.

Dashing to the side, she morphs _Crescent Rose_ back into a sniper and fires as she runs. The bullet connects. Ruby repeats her action. And it hits again. Smirking, she uses her Semblance to run around Arnold non-stop as she disappears in a whirlwind of rose petals. Arnold's eyes widen and he tries to freeze her again as well as shoot into the petals...

But he can't find her.

Bullets fire from the whirlwind of petals. Each one hitting the mark, and it isn't long before I hear Glynda Goodwitch blow a whistle. "That's enough."

Looking up, I see Arnold's Aura is at 10% and in the red. Looking back down, I see Ruby run over to Arnold and offer him a hand up. I see him smile before accepting and I watch as she helps him up. Ms. Goodwitch returns to the stage. "As you can see, Ms. Rose adapted to her opponents Semblance and found a way to counteract it. Make sure to always keep your opponents Semblance in mind when in battle. Now..." Turning her gaze on Ruby and Arnold, she gives them a slight smile. "Good job you too. Go get changed and return to your seats."

Ruby and Arnold nod, before leaving talking amicably.

"Pay up!" I hear, and turn to see Yang begrudgingly mumbling as Nora handed 20 Lien to Weiss.

"Now..." We all turn to look back at Ms. Goodwitch. "We have time for one more match." Looking down at her scroll once again, I look up to the screens as she types. The screens spin student ID's once again and I watch as the first one stops on my face.

 _'Fuck...'_

Turning my gaze to the other screen, I felt dread rising in my chest.

 _'Not Yang. Not Yang. Not Yang.'_

The image stops on a familiar face.

 **Blake Belladonna**

 _'… Oh fuck you author dick.'_

Turning to look at Blake, who had been silent up to this point. She gives me a nod before standing and heading off. Sighing to myself, I stand as well and head to my locker.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Now dressed in my Dante ripoff clothes and equipped with _Ebony, Ivory_ and _Kira_. I make my way up the stage where I am met with the sight of Blake dressed in her signature outfit holding _Gambol Shroud._

 _'_ _Why couldn't it have been someone easy, like Jaune? Or at least someone I hate, like Cardin?'_

…

 _'This is gonna hurt.'_

I see Glynda step off the stage again before looking up. "Begin!"

Putting a hand on _Kira_ I watch Blake warily as she does the same.

 _'Okay... from what I remember from what I saw from the show and the MOUNTAINS of fanfics I read... She has some kinda... Shadow Clone thing. I also remember watching video clips of some of her fights online. If anything comes to mind... It's her reflexes and speed.'_

A minute passes and neither of us have moved. Figuring Blake didn't want to make the first move, keeping my right hand on Kira I use my left to quickly draw _Ebony_ and fire at Blake.

It's like a switch was flipped.

Blake is suddenly not even there. And I manage to draw _Kira_ just in time to block a slash from _Gamble Shroud_. She slashes again and I just barley manage to block a second strike. The third hits me point blank and I grimace as I move to block a fourth strike. Deciding I need room, I jump back and fire _Ebony_ as many times as possible.

… And then proceed to drop my jaw as I watch Blake FREAKING BLOCK FIRE BULLETS with _Gambol Shroud._

"Shit." I so eloquently say before I have to block another slash from _Gambol Shroud._ Trying to go on the offensive, I slash back at Blake and feel annoyance when I see her block it with ease. She makes a slash for my face and I duck...

Only to immediately get kicked so hard, I fall to the ground. I see Blake pounce back as I painfully stand up. Pulling out my scroll, I look to see my Aura level.

 _'90% huh... Well...'_

Remembering how Arnold and I took on the Mother Widow, I put up my scroll and sheathe _Kira._ Keeping an eye on Blake, I quickly draw _Ivory_ and charge at her. I fire both pistols at her and watch as she blocks all of them.

ALMOST all of them. Just before I reach her, I fire several bullets from _Ivory_ at her feet and I see her eyes widen as the Ice Dust freezes her to the floor.

 _'Jackpot...'_

Jumping in the air, I take a page from Nero's DMC 4 moveset and dropkick Blake. I hear the ice shatter as she goes flying. I land on the ground with a grunt but I'm not done yet, pointing both _Ebony_ and _Ivory_ at Blake I fire to get as many hits in as possible as she struggles to block on her descent to the floor. When she lands, she rolls back into a standing position and throws G _ambol Shroud_ keeping a hand on it's wire attachment. Before I can react, _Gambol Shroud_ knocks _Ivory_ out of my hand and I see it fly off the stage.

Right before the blade returns and strikes me on it's way back to it's master. I feel myself fall forward and put my hand out to stop my fall. I feel a tinge of irritation as my body surges in protest.

 _'Yeah, I know your still sore... But deal with it.'_

Drawing Kira once again, I feel my eyes widen as Blake charges directly for me. Planning to meet her head on, I fire at her approaching form with _Ebony._ Despite the fact I see her blocking everything, I don't stop shooting.

" _If she's having to block, she can't throw that thing again."_

I keep shooting until, she gets to me and I block the incoming slash from _Gambol Shroud_. She slashes again and I block with _Kira_ before pointing _Ebony_ point blank and firing. She grunts in pain as the shot connects and she jumps back again. I fire again but only get out a few shots before I'm out of ammo. After blocking all of them, Blake throws _Gambol Shroud_ at my gun again.

 _'Not this time.'_

Quickly rolling out of the weapons path, I sheathe _Kira_ and try to reload. Suddenly however, Blake is in front of me and she kicks me directly in the face again. I fall to the ground as her weapon returns to her and she slashes downward. Unable to reach _Kira_ in time I block the strike with _Ebony_. She makes another slash and it hits my hand and I cry out in pain as I drop my last pistol. She makes another slash and I roll out of the way. Standing, my eyes widen when another kick connects with my chest and knocks me to the other end of the stage. Grunting on impact I feel my body shoot with pain as I get up to stand. Fishing out my scroll, I look down at my Aura Count.

 _'45%?! Son of a Bitch!'_ I feel a mix of frustration and anger which I try to keep down. _'This is just... a sparring match. No need to get so angry about it.'_

Taking a calming breath, I unsheathe _Kira_ and hold it ahead of me with two hands. Charging forward, I intend to try to bluff her into blocking my strike. Thankfully she does, and moves to block an incoming strike...

And then her eyes widen when I quickly shift _Kira_ to it's shotgun form and dive away. Firing at my target, I watch as the bullet explodes on it's target. However, a form flies out of the blast and it lands to reveal Blake. Completely unharmed.

She dashes to me and slashes _Kira_ out of my hand, and as it lands near my feet. Without missing a beat, Blake lets out a roundhouse kick and I once again find myself falling through the air. Landing once again in pain, I momentarily wonder if I should just stay on the floor at this rate.

 **'This is pathetic...'**

I feel my eyes widen. _'The voice again?!'_

 **'I didn't unlock your power to see you on the ground like a worm! How do you plan to change their fates like this! Stand up! Use your Semblance!'**

 _'How!?'_

 **'Tap into your emotions! What do you feel in this moment?!'**

 _'What do I feel?'_

…

 _'...I feel angry.'_

 _'_ **At what?!'**

 _'Myself.'_

 **'At what part of yourself!?'**

 _'My weakness.'_

 **'Then use it! Turn this match in your favor! Use what energy you have left to turn the tide!'**

Feeling anger surging inside me, I stood up and turned to Blake. Seeing _Kira_ out of reach I smirk at Blake before motioning her to come at me. "Come on Blake. Lets get this over with."

Smirking back Blake charges forward. I let my arm fall as she approaches for a slash. Then I let my anger flare. Time seems to slow around me once again as I raise my left hand and catch her arm. Time returns to normal and I see Blake's eyes widen. She makes eye contact and gasps for some reason. Smirking, time slows again as I feel what little Aura I had left falling. Wrapping my remaining hand around her torso, I spin myself around to pick up speed. And then I throw her across the stage as hard as possible.

Blake goes flying and time returns to normal as I run to _Kira._ Pulling back up, I fire another explosive round at my target.

And this one hits. I hear Blake cry in pain as the shot connects and I pull out my scroll.

 _'Toby... 19%... Blake... 40%'_

…

 _'She's way out of my league... And I doubt I have enough Aura to use my Semblance again...'_

 _..._

 _'At least I somewhat managed to fight a match I can be proud of... but still...'_

…

 _'How can I save Pyrrha at this rate.'_

Putting up my scroll, I see Blake standing as she recovers from the blast. She gives me a wary look that shatters to one of confusion when I start laughing lightly.

"I don't have anymore tricks up my sleeve. Everything from now on is pretty much your match." Switching _Kira_ back to a short sword, I give Blake a smile. "So lets go." Charging directly for her, she charges as well. Slashing our swords clash and I meet her blow for blow. Though every couple of swings she hits me, I keep at it and soon I start to feel myself becoming tired. My swings slow as well as my blocks and I am finally disarmed before one final slash across my torso ends the match.

Ms. Goodwitch blows the whistle as I fall to my knees. Feeling at my limit, I plan on just sitting here for a bit. I see someone get down on their knee's in front of me and I look up and see Blake giving me a slight smile. "How are you feeling?"

I laugh painfully. "Almost as bad as when I fought the Mother Widow. Girl you kick ass."

Blake laughs lightly. "You didn't do so bad yourself."

"Drat!' I suddenly hear Weiss cry out. When I turn to look, I see Ruby holding up Forty Lien. She then hands twenty to Yang and they high five happily.

 _'Really? They bet again?'_

…

 _'Wait! That means Ruby bet AGAINST me! Not cool Little Red!'_

Ms. Goodwitch returns to the stage as Blake helps me up and I find I have to lean on her for support.

"Sorry." I say trying to ignore the heat rising in my face.

"It's fine."

Ms Goodwitch types something in her scroll before looking up. "As you saw, Miss Belladonna was clearly the more experienced fighter. Though he lost, Mr. Lawliet was able to fight back by thinking on his feet and a clever use of his Semblance."

Turning to us Ms. Goodwitch takes our appearance with a smile. "You both did good. Go get changed and head to your next class." Turning to everyone else Glynda pushes up her glasses. "Class is over with five minutes to spare. I suggest you all hurry to your classes."

Forcing myself to stop leaning on Blake, my body surges in protest as I stand on my own. Turning and moving to retrieve _Kira_ from it's place on the stage, my legs seem to groan with every step.

 _'I wonder if there will ever be a day I'm NOT sore or in pain?'_

Picking up Kira _,_ I sheathe the blade before turning to retrieve _Ebony_ and _Ivory._ I'm surprised when I see Blake approaching with my pistols in hand. Handing them to me, I give her a thankful smile before I holster my guns.

"Thanks." I say continuing my smile.

Blake shakes her head. "Don't mention it." Turning around, she starts to head out off the stage.

 _'Oh hey! I wonder if she finished reading The Hobbit?'_

Following her off the stage, I catch up to her with almost no time to spare.

"So hey Blake? You finish reading that book yet?"

Blake gives me a happy smile. "Yes! It was a great read! I was actually hoping to stop by the library, I've heard this one is a prequel and I'd like to read another."

I feel my smile grow. "When you do, would you mind if I came with? It's been awhile since I've read anything that wasn't textbooks."

I see Blake's bow twitch again and she gives me an amused smile. "Sure. I'll let you know when I have time."

Seeing we'd reached the different locker rooms, Blake turns to leave. "See you in class Toby."

I give her a friendly smile as I feel a strange excitement. "Yeah! See you later!"

Turning, I move into the male locker room where I left my school clothes and feel my smile grow.

 _'Okay, this fan-crush might have actually turned into a real crush.'_

Moving to my locker, I am unable to keep the smile off my face as I changed back into my school clothes.

 _ **END OF CHAPTER SEVEN**_


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've recently been employed, so I have less time to do this now. This story is not dead, to those of you who were worried. ;) This chapter is smaller than some others because it's mostly a retcon chapter to help address some issues I had with the story. Now that I got the ball rolling I can take the story where I wanted it to go. Since this chapter is a bit on the foreshadowy side, do feel free to leave criticism of how I could do better in the future. Cheers. :)_

 _ **Chapter Eight**_

 _ **Memories?**_

 _The forest was silent... Too silent._

 _That could only mean one thing._

 _Pulling out my pistols, I closed my eyes as I listened to the sounds around me._

…

…

…

" _SNAP"_

 _The sound of a snapping twig assaults my ears. Turning around to face the direction of the sound, I fire without hesitation. I'm awarded by the dying screeches of a Beowolf._

" _Your reflexes are getting better."_

 _I smile as I hear the familiar voice. Turning around, I look up to see my mentor perched on a tree limb._

" _I've had a good teacher."_

 _My mentor smiles, her brown eyes twinkling. "Flattery will get you everywhere." Chuckling, she stands before jumping off and landing in front of me, her brown locks falling in front of her tan face.. "For real though. I'm proud of you. Keep this up and you might finally unlock your Semblance."_

 _I feel my smile widen. I watch her stand and turn to leave as she beckons me to follow. Placing my guns back in their holsters, I follow._

 _The dream shifts._

 _Suddenly I'm in a small cabin. My mentor instructs me to sit as she moves to the other side of the room. Moving to our dinner table, I pull out one of the wooden chairs before taking a seat. I watch as my mentor picks up a backpack. She turns before walking over and handing me a backpack. At first I'm confused, but then I see the logo._

 _ADIDAS..._

 _My eyes widen in surprise as I gasp to myself. Looking at my mentor, she gives me an encouraging nod. Slowly, I look back at the bag, zipping it open I see..._

 _...Something I haven't seen in years._

…

" _How?" I feel my voice crack._

 _My mentor smiles. "Loki owed me one so I called in a favor. You know as well as I do that time is a less than a plaything for a god like him so... I asked him to get some stuff from your old life. The rest is in your room."_

 _My eyebrows shoot up as I stand, walking as fast as I can, I open the door to my room and..._

…

 _My bed is covered in old family photos. I smile as I feel tears fall. Tears for a life long passed._

 **BEEP**

 **BEEP**

 **BEEP**

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

I open my eyes to the sound of my alarm.

 _'What the hell kinda dream was that.'_

Wordlessly, I stand, making my way to the alarm and shutting it off. As the noise stops. I hear blankets rustle as my teammate shuffles out of bed.

"Good Morning my friend." He says with a yawn.

"Morning." I say absentmindedly as I think back on the dream.

 _'Who was that woman? She seemed so familiar... What even was that dream?'_

 **'Who says it was a dream?'**

My eyes widen as that damn voice sounds in my head again.

 _'Okay, I really need to look into what that voice is.'_

Arnold jumps down before gathering some clothes. "Do you mind if I shower first?"

I absentmindedly shake my head. "No, go on ahead."

I move to sit down and I hear our bathroom door shut. Waiting until I hear the shower turn on, I take a quick breath.

"Okay. Whoever you are that keeps talking in my head. Spill it, who are you."

 **'You need not speak out loud. If you remember, I can hear your thoughts.'**

 _'Okay... Who are you?'_

The voice chuckles. **'You know already boy.'** The voice laughs for several seconds. **'Honestly, how odd it is that you would use amnesia as an excuse to lie to those around you!'** The voice starts to laugh hysterically. **'If you knew how on the nose you were!'**

The voice continues to laugh, much to my annoyance.

 _'What the hell are you talking about?'_

If anything, my question only makes the voice laugh harder. Several moments pass before the voice calms down.

 **'You really are dense. Do you truly believe that you just "woke up" here in the middle of Remnant?'** The voice laughs again.

I furrow my brows in confusion.

 _'What do you mean?'_

 **'Tell you what, I shall help you. If only to further my own amusement. The woman in your dream? Her name is Olivia Ferne.'** The voice pauses, letting the information set in. **'Go to your headmaster and ask him to look up the name if you do not believe me.'**

 _'Um... okay?'_ I just feel my confusion increase.

 **'While you're there, do me a favor and ask Ozpin if he's finished your background check. If I know that man, he should be done by now.'**

…

 _'BACKGROUND CHECK!?'_

The voice laughs. **'Did you honestly think Ozpin would let you into Beacon with the flimsy excuse you gave him?** The laughter continues. **'Foolish boy.'**

My anxiety starts to flare. _'Shit! What the fuck?! What am I gonna do?!'_

The voice seems amused by my reaction. **'** **Your reaction is a bit much, considering the circumstances.'** The voice laughs before it starts to fade away.

I feel the presence in my mind leaving. Just in time too, cause I hear the bathroom door open to reveal my teammate.

Arnold gives me a carefree smile. "Shower is free."

I nod but stay sitting. My face must be showing my mood because Arnold gives me a worried look.

"Are you alright?"

 _'Let me get back to you on that... And now I get to play the amnesia card again. Only...'_

…

"My friend?"

Turning my gaze back to my friend I clear my throat. "I um... I think I remembered something. Something from my past, I mean."

Arnold smiles. "That's good!" His smile shrinks as he takes in my face expression. "Isn't it?"

I run my fingers through my hair. "Maybe?... I don't know." I sigh. "After classes today, I think I might drop by the Headmaster's office. Ask if he can confirm something for me."

Arnold stares at me in slight amusement. "It is Saturday."

 _'...Oh. Holy shit I've made it a whole week in Beacon. How about that...'_

"In that case..." I stand up, opening out dresser and pulling out my school uniform. "I'm gonna head straight there. Can you do me a favor and tell teams RWBY and JNPR where I am at Breakfast today?"

My teammate nods with a smile. "Sure. I'll make sure to save you an apple as well. I know how mush you like them."

I smile as I move to the bathroom to change. "Thanks a bunch. Your the best teammate a guy could ask for."

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Now changed, I step out of the bathroom and enter my now empty room.

 _'I guess Arnold already left.'_

Grabbing my scroll, I leave the room before locking it behind me. Turning to walk down the hallway, I activate my scroll before going into the contacts. Pressing Ozpin's number, I hold the scroll up to my ear. The thing dials for several seconds before I hear Ozpin answer.

" _ **Mr. Lawliet? Is everything alright?"**_

"Um... yeah. I was wondering if I could meet you in your office. I think I remembered something and... I was wondering if you could help."

I hear Ozpin take a sip of something, probably coffee, before he responds. _**"My door is always open to my student Mr. Lawliet. Since I doubt you know where my office is, I'll have Mrs. Goodwitch fetch you."**_

"Okay. I'm just leaving the dorms now, I'll head to the courtyard. Thanks in advance."

" _ **Anytime Mr. Lawliet. See you when you arrive."**_

I hear a click.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

It wasn't long before Mrs. Goodwitch was there to take me to Ozpin's office. She seemed slightly annoyed with the task, but softened up when I apologized. She lead me to inside Beacon's large tower before making our way to an elevator. Getting inside, she pushed a button as I leaned against the wall behind me.

To say I was nervous was an understatement. The voice said that Ozpin had been doing a background check on me... How long until he finds out just how full of shit I am?

I sigh, trying to calm myself down.

 _'No need to make Mrs. Goodwitch think I'm acting like a guilty man walking to court.'_

Moments pass in silence before the elevator finally opens, revealing Ozpin's office. Mrs. Goodwitch exits and I follow slowly as I take my surroundings in with wide eyes. The room is mostly colored green and the roof seems to be adorned with moving gears and cogs. In the middle of the room sits Ozpin at his desk. A desk that is covered in papers, something that looks like a futuristic computer and his signature mug of coffee. I approach slowly and I see Mrs. Goodwitch take a place standing by Ozpin.

 _'I guess we'll be having this conversation with her here.'_

Ozpin gives me a friendly smile, but his face is as unreadable as ever. "Please take a seat Mr. Lawliet." He says as he gestures to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Nodding, I take a seat before taking a breath.

 _'Where do I start?'_

Ozpin sits in silence, waiting for me to speak.

…

 _'...Fuck it. Just... I guess bring up the woman I guess.'_

Meeting Ozpin's eyes, I breath in before speaking. "I think I remembered someone from... before. I was wondering if you could confirm if they were real and it wasn't just a strange dream I had."

Ozpin takes a sip of his coffee. "And who would this person be?"

I scratch my head. "Um... A woman. I think her name is Olivia Fern? I think she was my mentor? I don't know it's all... weird up here right now." I say as I poke my head.

Ozpin gives me a sympathetic smile. "I understand. I assure you I'll look into it as soon as I can."

I nod with a smile, before my smile disappears.

 _'Now to see just how fucked I am.'_

…

 _'Let's hide behind humor, that always works.'_

I try to smile. "This is probably cheating on my part, but... I know that Beacon background checks it's students." I sigh. "Do you have any info about who I really am?"

Ozpin's expression gives away nothing. "I have a theory..."

I quirk an eyebrow and try to look hopeful. "And?"

Ozpin studies my face for several seconds. Long enough for it to become awkward.

 **'You should try to avoid faking emotions around the Wizard. He is analyzing you...'**

 _'Fuck... Well, can't have that. Let's try to break his train of thought.'_

"Sir?" I say while making a truly uncomfortable expression. "You had a theory?"

That seems to break whatever train of thought he was on. He nods. "Yes." He takes a sip of his coffee. "Not to assume anything... But I would say that you share an eerie resemblance to Ms. Rose. Wouldn't you say?"

 _'No shit... Fucking writer...'_ I hear the voice begin laughing hysterically.

 _'What the fuck is so funny?'_

…

The laughter continues and I do my best to ignore it. Looking at Ozpin, I give him an unsure smile. "You noticed that too huh?"

Ozpin nods and I think I see a caring smile as he tilts his head. "Would you like my advice?"

"Um... Sure?"

His smile looks... almost secretive?

 _'Like he's hiding something...'_

"I have some things I'd like to confirm regarding your Identity... In the meantime, I suggest you spend time with Ms. Rose and Xiao Long."

I can see Ms. Goodwitch smiling quietly in the background.

 _'Wow... This is not subtle.'_

"Okay?" I say instead. "That's not oddly specific at all."

My stomach growls suddenly, and I glare at my stomach. _'I will feed you later!'_

I hear Ozpin chuckle. "You should meet your friends in the Mess Hall Mr. Lawliet. We can continue this discussion later."

 _'… Or now. I will feed you now.'_

I nod as Ozpin takes another sip of his coffee. As I stand, I catch a whiff of his drink and it smells less like coffee and more like...

"Hot Chocolate?"

Ozpin hums at me while raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Is that Hot Chocolate?"

Ozpin nods before he gestures to a table off in the corner. It has some kinda drink machine thing on it.. "Do you want some?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm good." I smile. "Is that what your always drinking? We all thought it was coffee."

Ozpin smirks. "I do enjoy Hot Chocolate." He takes another sip. "I was not aware that students pondered over my drink of choice."

I shrugged with a smile. "Mostly just me and Arnold." I stand up from my chair. "Well, thank you for your help sir. I better run before my friends send out a search party."

Ozpin nods. "Very well. And remember what I said Mr. Lawliet. My door is always open to my students."

I give him a wide smile and nod before I make my way into the elevator. Pushing the button to the ground floor, I give them both a quick mock salute with two fingers before the door closes.

 _'Well... At least the writer's dumb brother subplot is still going full force...'_

…

 _'… Now that I think about it... I don't know how I feel about that...'_

I hear a chuckle. **'You are quite an amusing human...'**

I glare at nothing in particular. _'Why?'_

I am greeted with silence. I let out a huff.

"Whatever."

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

I manage to make it to the Dining Hall just as Breakfast is over. Moving over to our table, I approach as all my friends begin to stand.

"Morning guys!" I say cheerfully.

Everyone turns and I get various different types of greetings. Suddenly Ruby rushes up to me and stops in place, bouncing a bit on her toes.

"Arnold said you remembered something! What was it?"

Everyone's gaze turns on me, with various levels of interest. I scratch my head.

"Nothing much, I think I remembered my mentor?" I shrug. "I asked Professor Ozpin if he could look into it."

"Catch, my friend."

Looking to Arnold, I see him toss me something. Catching it with ease, I see an apple.

I send him a wide smile, before pointing at him. "You are awesome."

"I know." He returns my smile.

I take a bite of my apple and I moan to myself as I savor the taste.

I see several faces of amusement as we all begin to leave. As we exit the Mess Hall, I feel someone tap me on the arm. Turning my gaze, I see Blake giving me a small smile.

"You wanted me to let you know when I was heading to the library?"

I blink stupidly for several seconds before the wires in my brain connect. I feel butterflies in my stomach for a second.

"Oh! Yeah! You headed there now?"

 _'No dumb ass, she only poked you for no reason...'_

Blake nods before she starts to walk off. I move to follow and I catch the amused gazes of both Arnold and Yang. I point at them both.

"You can both shush." I say with a glare.

 _ **END OF CHAPTER EIGHT**_


	9. Chapter 9

_I really need to flesh out some friendships soo... wala! (Early volume 1 Blake is so hard for me to write. I hope I got her right.)_

 _I'm sorry it's been so long. Since I got a job, I've had alot of trouble balancing my life. I promise I will still work on this but my upload schedule might be a bit more random then it used to be. (Not that I was ever consistant in the first place.)_

 _ **Chapter Nine**_

 _ **Weekend Fun and Revelations**_

The trip to Beacon's library was a quiet one, mostly because I couldn't think of any real intelligent conversation. Blake didn't seem to mind too much though... but then again she never really was one to instigate conversation this early in the series. Honeslty, despite the silence... I'm a ball of nerves.

Part of me wonders while I was so eager to do this. _'I mean yes, Blake is one of_ _my_ _favorite characters in the show..._ _But I know how I behaved back in highschool when I'd have a crush on someone!'_

The answer is awkward as all hell.

It doesn't help that Blake was... well...

...

Fuck, she was just so _beautiful._

Seeing her in the show was one thing. There she was an attractive character design, nice to look at sure... but she was animated.

Here though... she was real.

Like me, she was dressed in the Beacon's maditory school uniform. Her raven black hair fell all the way down to the small of her back and it seemed to spread out somehow. Like her hair wanted to make itself as wide as possible and desguise itself as a cape. Her amber eyes stared ahead, and I couldn't help but notice how every now and then the lights from the hallway would reflect off them and make them sparkle. Occaissonally as we walked, the students passing us would laugh or make a similarilly loud sound and I'd see the bow she always wore to cover her ears twitch.

She was just...

 _'Wow...'_

I think I might be... gawking? _'Yeah, that's not creepy at all.'_

I feel my face heat up and force myself to look litterally anywhere else, taking a final bite of my apple as I do so.

 _'And this... This is why no one ever dated you.'_ I think as I toss the apple core in the nearist trash bin.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Finally we'd reached the library. Despite my current state of... awkwardness? I feel my eyes widen as I take in the sight before me. It was HUGE! The room was massive, with each wall addorned with large aisle's of bookshelves filled to the brim with... well books. The middle of the room was littered with multiple tables and chairs, most likely for a place to study. Sitting at one of the tables was most of Team CFVY, though strangely Velvet seems to be absent.

In the far left corner I could see rows of computer like terminals.

 _'I guess that's for the internet searches... Aren't I just a regular Sherlock Holmes?'_

Blake moves over towards what looks like the reception area and I follow silently. Sitting behind the receptionist desk is a blonde woman, who I assume is the librarian. As we approach she gives us a warm smile.

"How can I help you two?"

Blake gestures to the both of us. "We're new here, I was hoping we could both get set up with a library card."

The woman nods. "Of course!" She swivels her chair slightly to face her terminal-computer thingy. She types on the keyboard for a few seconds before she speaks. "I just need your names, grades and team names."

Blake speaks first. "Blake Belladonna, first year. Team RWBY."

The woman nods with a small smile. She inputs the info into her terminal before turning to me. "And you?"

"Um... Toby Lawliet. Also a first year. Team AT."

Nodding again, she inputs my info. Pushing back her chair, she pulls out a desk drawer and grabs two plastic cards. Closing the drawer, she grabs a nearby marker before writing our information on both. Scooting forward once again, she hands us the cards.

"There you go! Just scan the cards and books before you leave!"

Blake and I nod with a thank you and make our way to the different aisle's. Finding ourselves in the fantasy section, I prove my nerdiness when my eyes immediately zero in on _The Fellowship of the Ring._ Puling the book from the shelf, I hold it out to Blake.

"You still wanting to read the sequel?."

Blake, who had been searching through the bookshelves alphabetically. Gives me a surprised look before nodding and grabbing the outstreched book. "That was quick."

I shrug. "I'm kinda a nerd when it comes to that series. I've read it more times than I can count." Not forgetting my amnesia excuse, I add. "I remember I used to read it between training with my mentor... At least I think."

Blake nods with a soft smile. "I'm glad you've begun to remember bits of your old life."

 _'At least that makes one of us. Currently, I'm too busy trying to figure out what the fuck is happening... I mean, is the writer somehow fucking with my memory? Making me remember stuff that I know is fake? If so... I'm not okay with that.'_

 _..._

 _'I mean, it wasn't that long ago that I was celebrating my graduation with Matt. And then on the way home I...'_

 _'I...'_

 _..._

 _'What happened then...? Why can't I remember?'_ I start to feel alarmed. _'What the fuck?!'_

"Toby? You okay?" Blake's question remindes me that I was currently in a conversation.

"Um... yeah." I say. _'Cause that sounds convincing.'_

I see Blake roll her eyes. "Of course. That would explain why you were making faces at the floor." She says sarcasticly. Her face softens. "What's wrong?"

I stare into Blake's eyes for a few seconds before I sigh, looking down.

 _'Maybe if I just tell a half truth? I'm really getting sick of having to lie.'_

 _"_ I'm not too enthused with what I've been remembering... And some of the things I can't remember... It scares me slightly." I sigh again, looking up. "It doesn't really make sense but... like I told the headmaster... It's a mess up here right now."

Blake seems like she's searching for something comforting to say. _'Fuck, I didn't come here to bug her with my issues.'_

I turn away and start to search for a random book. "So-" I try changing the subject. "- Do you have a favorite genre? Or do you just like to read pretty much anything?"

A moment passes before she responds. "Are you trying to change the subject?"

I give her a wide smile. "Yep! Work with me here Blake! I need the distraction."

She laughs lightly as she shakes her head. "To answer your question... pretty much anything. Lately though..." Her face heats up as she mutters something.

"Didn't quite catch that last part." I say with a raised eyebrow.

Her face stays heated. "Lately I've had a preferance for romance novels."

 _'...And by "Romance Novels", I'm sure she means "Ninja's of Love" which is... an adult novel if I remember correctly.'_

I shrug, ignoring the heat rising on my face. "I can't really make fun of that. I'm a sucker for a good romance plot."

"Really?" Looking at Blake's surprised face, I feel the heat on my face intensify.

I look away, back to the books. "Um... yeah. Is that weird?"

 _'Please don't be weird.'_

"No!" Blake says with with a stange amount of forcefullness. "It's just surprising."

I nod as I feel the blush going away somewhat. I clear my throat. "So... any favorite's so far?"

 _'Oh hey there, Dracula! And even still credited to Bram Stoker. Haven't read that in a while.'_ I grab the book and move away from the shelf.

Blake thinks for a second. "Nothing comes to mind just yet... But I did finish reading _Romeo and Juliet_ recently, at least before I started _The Hobbit._ "

I groan. _'Why THAT story of all stories?'_

"Not a fan?" She asks with a tilt of her head. She looks amused.

"Not even a little bit." I say as Blake and I make our way out of the aisle.

"Why?" Blake way looks way to amused by this.

I stop and look at Blake, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you wanna ask me that? I'm gonna rant."

Amused Blake continues. "Go ahead."

I take a deep breath. "Okay first off... _Romeo and Juliet_ is not a romance story it is a tragedy. Second- Romeo is an adult in the story and Juliet is what... 12? 13? That's creepy! And while I'm at it, if I remember correctly, at one point Romeo is obsessed with another girl before he meets Juliet. I highly doubt that he's _"in love"_ with Juliet when he was just obsessed with another girl like what? Five minutes ago? And don't even get me started on their suicide at the end! That's not romantic, that's just dumb!"

Blake sports a wide grin and her amber eyes sparkle in amusement. "So, not a fan."

I deflate. "Yeah. Not a fan." I smile. "Unpopular opinion, I know but meh. Never really liked the story."

Blake looks at the book in my hand. "And Bram's Stoker's Dracula? Opinions?"

I shrug. "It's actually been a long time since I read this... I think. I'm gonna need a refresher on that one."

Blake nods with a small smile. We make our way over to the receptionist and hand her our books. She doesn't even bother to look at our cards for obvious reasons. Now checked out, we thank her and make our way out of the library.

"I mean, I remember really liking it? I'm not quite sure though."

Blake gives me a smile. "It is considered a classic for a reason."

 _'Oh look at me! I'm having a fuctioning conversation with an attractive girl... And the butterflies in my stomach have mostly fucked off! What a day to be alive!'_

We fall into silence once again. But this time... I don't find it uncomfortable. As we walk, Blake turns her book around in her hands and starts reading the summary to _The Lord of the Rings_. At first, I'm slightly worried that she might bump into something or trip or something... but she navigates the hallway just fine despite the fact that she's looking downward.

 _'Fuck knows that if I tried that, I'd be face down in pain by now.'_

Now done reading, Blake looks back up and turns to look at me. I, in turn, pretend that I haven't just been staring at her this whole time.

 _'Staring is creepy! Stop being creepy.'_

"Earlier you asked my favorite genre. What's yours?"

I think for a moment as we walk. After a small bit of consideration, I respond. "It's a mixup of two. Fantasy and Adventure. But..." I point to the book she was holding. "That was probably obvious."

Blake smiles. "Maybe so." Her bow twitches.

I hear rapid footsteps as we turn the corner and I'm greeted with the sight of Velvet Scarlatina running down the hall. Looking very flustered as she hugs a large textbook. As she runs I see one asshole by the name of Cardin Winchester stick out his foot as he walks past. The very second I see Velvet trip and why I feel a surge of concern mixed with anger and a mental click that I've learned to connect with my Semblance activating. Time slows as the book she's holding is thrown outwards towards Blake who I see widens her eyes slowly. Feeling my Aura draining, I drop my library book and move quickly. Grabbing Velvet's textbook out of the air, I move close to the falling Velvet and hold my left arm out to stop her fall. Small crises avoided, my Semblance clicks off and I feel my Aura stop draining and time returns to normal. Though what's left isn't much, despite how short that usage was.

Velvet's face turns from wincing to shock when she realizes she hasn't hit the ground. Helping her stand upright I hand her her book before glaring at Cardin who sneers before he leaves silently. I continue to glare as he leaves.

"Um... thank you." The sound of Velvet's accented voice makes me stop glaring as i turn my gaze on her. I smile.

"No problem." I hold her book out to her. "Want me to report him?" I nod down the hall.

Velvet shakes her head as she grabs her textbook. "Um, n-no. That's not necessary..."

"Are you sure?" Blake speaks from behind me. I turn and see that she has picked up my fallen book. Walking over to us, she hands it to me. "He did just trip you."

Velvet shakes her head again. I sigh. Sticking out my hand, I feel my heart hurt slightly when I see her wince. "I'm Toby Lawliet. The woman behind me is Blake Belladonna."

Velvet stares at my hand disrtustfully before she looks towards Blake. In turn, Blake sends her a friendly smile before she subtly makes the left side of her bow twitch. Velvet's eyes widen in realization as Blake nods in my direction.

 _'This whole thing is not that subtle Blake. How unobservant do you think I am? But... I guess she did just give Velvet the Faunus approved stamp of me being friendly.'_

Velvet takes my hand and shakes it. I smile as our hands seperate. "My names Velvet Scarlatina. It's good to meet you." She smiles back before her eyes widen. "Oh shoot! I need to go! I promised Coco I'd be at the library twenty minutes ago!"

 _'Insert Alice in Wonderland late rabbit joke here...'_

I nod before moving out of her way. "Well, it was nice to meet you Velvet." Blake nods as Velvet runs by us giving us one last wave as she turns the corner. I wave back as she leaves my view, a smile on my face.

I turn to look at Blake who is smiling oddly at me. "What?" I ask.

Blake shakes her head, but the smile never leaves. "Nothing." She starts to leave and I follow. "That was an impressive display of speed though, I barely saw you move."

"It's not really speed. More like some kinda time slowing thing. It's my Semblance." I yawn. "It drains my aura to almost nothing though."

Blake glances at me. "Even in that short of time?"

I nod. "Yep. Doesn't help that I'm still learning how to NOT switch it on in situations that don't call for it."

"Example?"

"Umm... well my Semblance seems to be tied to my emotions in some way. And yesterday, Arnold was leaving the bathroom after taking a shower. Not usually a cause for alarm right? Well I-" I point myself. "-had no idea I wasn't alone. The superstisious part of my brain thought we had a ghost. So my Semblance activated and the next thing I know, I'm drained for absolutely no reason."

Blake smiles in amusement as we continue down the hall. "And I assume the glowing red eyes are a part of your Semblance as well?"

I blink. "What?"

She looks over at me. "Back in our match and again here; both times I've seen you use it, your eyes glowed red."

 _'...Well that's new.'_

I stare at her in silence for a moment. "Like... angry frustrated Yang, like back in the forest, red?"

Blake shakes her head. "No. A very violent glowing red. Almost burning."

"Well that's... I don't know if that's really cool or really creepy." I blink. Staring at Blake, I focus on what Cardin just did. Switching my Semblance on and then as time slows, I immediately switch it back off before it can drain the remainder of my aura. "Did it do it that time too?"

Blake nods. "Yeah."

"Oh fun." I say dryly. "I have glowing red anime eyes. That's not cliche at all..."

Blake nods with a small smile. "That is a common trope in some manga."

I raise an eyebrow is surprise. "You read manga?"

She shrugs. "Occaisionally. It's not my favorite form of literature."

Exiting the main building, we walk in the direction of our dorms. Talking randomly about different pieces of literature the whole way.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Saying goodbye to Blake, I use my scroll to unlock my dorms electronic lock. Stepping inside, I close the door with a small smile as I shut my eyes. I sigh happily.

 _'I haven't geeked out over books that much in a long time.'_

"Welcome back loverboy."

"How did it go?"

Two voices reach my ears and I let out a startled yelp. My damn Semblance activates again as I turn quickly; meeting the gazes of Arnold and Yang, who are both sitting together on the top bunk eating candy. My Semblance deactivates as Yang holds up her hands in surprise.

"Woah there! No need to go all 'evil eye' on me."

Arnold smirks before taking a bite of his chocolate bar and swallowing. "He does that sometimes."

I fold my arms in mock irritation. "Yeah, thanks for telling me by the way. I would've liked to know that my eyes are essentially headlights now."

Arnold shrugs. "I assumed you knew."

I roll my eyes.

"So..." Yang begins before wiggling her eyebrows at me. "How'd your date go?"

I feel my face heat up. "A trip to the library is not a date! We were just getting books!"

Yang laughs lightly her smile wide. "Are you blushing!?" Her laughter continues as I try to look anywhere else. "Oh my god you are! That's adorable!"

I try to force down the rising heat. "Shut up..."

Yang does not in fact shut up. Niether does my blush go away. "Oh your so cute!" She starts to giggle uncontrollably. I look to Arnold for help, but frown when I see him grinning wildly. I groan.

 _'I need out of this situation... to the bathroom I go! Good thing I forgot to shower this morning. Hopefully by the time I'm out, she'll have got it out of her system.'_

"Whatever. I'm gonna go shower. You two just... do whatever."

Yang stops laughing but her eyes twinkle with mischief. "Cold shower?" She says suggestively.

My face grows even hotter. And I glare as my heart starts to pound. "I'm... I'm gonna leave now." I turn around quickly grabbing a towel as I head to the bathroom.

"I believe you've upset him." I hear Arnold say as I quickly shut the door. Gathering my thoughts, I move over to the mirror and...

 _'Oh yeah... Me but not me. I don't think I'll ever get used to that.'_

I find myself glaring at my reflection before I roll my eyes. Taking off my blazer and shirt, I fold them before placeing them on the counter.

 _'Because I forgot a change of clothes... and I AM NOT going back out there.'_

There's a knock at the door. "Are you still decent?"

 _'What the fuck Arnold?'_

I sigh. "Somewhat. What do you want?"

The door opens and I turn quickly glaring at him as he walks in. "Fuck dude! Just waltz right in! It's not like I was undressing or anything!"

Arnold shrugs. "I did ask. And you did not lock the door." He sighs at my glare. "You realize she is just tease..." He stops, looking behind me with wide surprised eyes.

A moment passes. I snap my fingers. "Arnold? You in there?"

"IS HE WEARING PANTS? IS IT SAFE TO COME IN!?"

I slap my hand against my face as Arnold shakily replies with a yes.

 _'Please writer don't let Blake hear any of this. Oh my fucking god.'_

Suddenly the door is open and Yang is walking in.

"Goddamnit Yang!" I shout while I once again face palm, my face heating up. "What the hell!?"

She shrugs with a grin. "The door was unlocked. Listen I was just kid-" She also looks behind me before she stops and gasps lightly. "Oh my god..." She says quietly.

 _'Okay thats unsettling. What managed to shut up Yang?'_

I start to look behind me. _'I mean, there's nothing behind me except a mir-'_

"Holy shit..."

Looking into the mirror, I see my reflection gazing back. My back turned to the mirror, I can see my bare back. The only problem is, my back is adorned by five very large scars. Like some really big claws had their way with me at some point. The scars were rough and dark, which made me guess that they weren't gonna heal any more than they had.

 _'WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT COME FROM!?'_

I feel a sudden pain in my head. Then suddenly it feels like I'm somewhere else.

 _ **Fear. Claws everywhere, Is that blood? I scream as I'm carried off. Voices shout an unfamiliar word. The voices sound panicked. Why? Glowing eyes meet mine as I scream. Pain.**_

"Toby?" Arnolds voice brings me back to the present. "Are you alright?"

I nod weakly. _'What the fuck was that?!'_

Out loud I say: "Memory flash... I fucking hate amnesia." I raise and hand, barely able to touch one of the scars by it's edge.

Arnold comes over to me. "May I?" He gestures to the scars.

"Um... sure?" I turn around.

I feel him trace the scars. "These look old... Too old to be recent..." He leans over to look at me. "How is this the first time you've seen them?"

I shrug. "I don't make a habit of staring at myself in the mirror."

 _'In fact on a good day I try to avoid it.'_

Arnold nods before he looks back at my back. "These must have happened before you unlocked your Aura... That is the only way I could think of them not healing..."

 _'And because fanfic bullshit, I can't really guess when that was.'_

I hear Arnold step back and with a sigh, I turn around. Meeting the eyes of Arnold and Yang. Yang looks very disturbed and that worries me slightly.

"Yang?"

She says nothing as she stares at me. Sharing a glance with Arnold, I move over to Yang. Putting a hand on her shoulder, I shake her lightly. "Hey Yang? You okay in there?"

Yang blinks before she looks at me. Only now that I'm this close, do I see that her eye's are misty. This only alarms me more.

"Beryl?" She whispers, her voice cracking.

 _'What the fuck is a Beryl?'_

"Yang? Are you alright? Your kinda scaring me."

Yang gazes into my eyes before she suddenly clears her throat. Wiping her eyes she grins. "Um, yeah! Listen I uh..." She backs away. "I need to go. I'll see you later!" With that she turns and exits the bathroom.

...

I meet Arnolds gaze. "She is not okay."

He nods. "It seems not. I should check on her before she leaves." With that he also exits the bathroom.

...

 _'This has been the weirdest bathroom break ever...'_

 _..._

 _'What was I even doing?'_

 _..._

 _'Oh yeah. Shower to cover embarrassment...'_

Wordlessly, I lock the bathroom door before I move on with my plans to shower.

 _'Okay writer, I'm not sure what your doing... but stop fucking with my head. My thoughts are MINE and whatever your doing needs to stop. NOW.'_

The rest of my shower is spent worrying about Yang.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Leaving the bathroom dressed and refreshed, but no less worried. I glance at Arnold, who is sitting on the top bunk, munching thoughtfully on a candy bar.

"Well?" I send my teammate a questioning glance. "Did she say anything?"

Arnold shakes his head. "She only said that she needed to make a call... and perhaps speak with the headmaster."

My eyes widen. "Why?"

Arnold shrugs. "I do not know."

Sighing, I pull out a chair from the work desk and take a seat. "Not to change the subject..." I say. "What lead to you two hanging out in here anyway."

Arnold shruged again. "She said was studying. Mrs. Rose ran off somewhere and Mrs. Belladonna was with you. I believe she was bored."

I raise an eyebrow as he takes another bite of his chocolate bar. "And the candy?"

Arnold shrugs yet again. "She brought it."

I nod before I lean back in my chair. The atmosphere is really tense.

"Toby? Do you have any idea why she reacted the way she did?"

 _'...All I got is the dumb-ass brother sub-plot but... Not the how or why. Fuck.'_

"No."

Arnold sighs. We're silent for several seconds before I hear my stomach growl angerly.

"I guess that apple could only last for so long. Using my Semblance for no reason multiple times today probably didn't help."

"You used your Semblance? Why?"

I shrug. "Cardin was a dick and tripped a student running down the hall. Apparentlly that, mixed with her textbook almost flying into Blake's face is enough to set it off."

Arnold rolls his eyes. "That bastard."

My eyes widen. "I'm not sure but... I think that's the first time I've heard you curse."

My stomach growls again and I groan.

 _'Goddamnit stomach...'_

"How much longer till lunch?"

Arnold pulls out his scroll. "About three hours."

I groan again. "Any more candy up there?"

Arnold raises his chocolate bar. "Just this." He leans back. "If you want a snack, the dorms do have a lounge. There is a fridge there."

"Really? Cool." I stand up. "Where is it? Wanna come with?"

"It is in the first floor. At the end of the hallway. As for joining you..." He jumps down from his bunk. "I promised my sister I would call her around this time today. Pass?"

I nod. "Sure." Grabbing my scroll, I head out of our dorm.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Walking down the steps, I turn and make my way down the hallway. Now that I was alone, I couldn't help but be alone with my thoughts.

 _'This is turning out to be quite the fucking day. I mean, weird dreams, a talking voice in my head, hanging with Blake... whatever the fuck that was with Yang...'_

 _..._

 _'And not to forget the fact that the writer is somehow fucking with my mind...'_

That last part concerned me more than the rest.

 _'My memories are mine damn it... If you can just add memories on the fly...'_

 _..._

I don't know what to think as I make my way into dorm's lounge area. Making a beeline for the fridge, I put a stop to my worrying thoughts as my stomach growls.

 _'Yeah, yeah...'_

"Hey Toby!"

I turn my head as I open the fridge. I see Ruby stainding at the main island near the kitchen area. She has a red bowl set up with chocolate chips, flour, and a big wodden spoon set to the side. She is waving happily,

"Hi Ruby." I say absentmindedly as I grab a bag of grapes from the fridge. Standing up, I turn to leave-

 _'...Wait.'_

I turn to look at Ruby who is breaking a couple eggs before tossing them in the bowl.

"Ruby? What are you doing?"

She sends me a happy smile. "Making cookies!"

 _'...Why does this look so familiar?'_

I blink as she picks up the bag of flour.She starts to try to rip it open... but she seems to be failing. She sighs, before trying again, but with more force this time.

 _'...I know a cliche when I see it.'_

"Um... Ruby? If you keep pulling on the bag like that it'll-"

Too late. Ruby rips open the bag and it splits down the middle. Flour flies everywhere and soon, the little red reaper is enveloped inside a cloud of flour. I hear her cough as the cloud dissipates, revealing a slightly despondent looking Ruby Rose.

The sight of Ruby covered in flour making sad eyes is so cute that I actually find myself laughing. She glares at me.

"It's not funny!" Mad Ruby covered in flour is worse.

"I'm sorry!" I say, before I break into another fit of laughter.

I guess my laughter is contagious because soon, her glare breaks into a smile and Ruby starts to giggle. We laugh together for a couple seconds before I regain control of myself.

Smiling, I gesture to the mess. "You want any help?"

Ruby sends me a happy smile. "Sure!"

Tossing my mostly forgotten bag of grapes to a nearby counter, I make my way to Ruby and the counter that is now covered in flour. Looking into the bowl, I'm surprised to see that at least _some_ of the flour made it in.

"How many are you making?" I ask.

Ruby sneezes before answering. "A couple dozen. Maybe 5 or 6?"

I send Ruby a surprised look. _'No one person needs that many cookies.'_

"Um... Can I ask why?"

Ruby gives me an excited nod. "I was making them for us! All of us! To celebrate getting through our first week at Beacon!"

I smile, before looking down at the bowl. "In that case, we're gonna need more ingredients."

Ruby sneezes again. "Like what?"

"Suger, brown suger, salt, more flour, and vanilla."

Ruby blinks looking lost.

"You... do know how to make Chocolate Chip cookies don't you?"

Ruby shakes her head no, causing some flour to fall off her head.

I laugh lightly. "In that case, I'm glad I stopped by." Giving Ruby a smile I continue. "Want me to teach you?"

Ruby nods excitedly before she sneezes again. "Darn it..." She mumbles with a sniff.

I find myself laughing yet again. "But first, you should find a towel or something to get some of that flour off."

Ruby nods before dashing away to the cabinets, leaving behind a trail of flour and rose petals in her wake. Grinning wildly, I start to look for all the different ingredients we'd be needing.

 _ **LINEBREAK**_

Popping in the sheet covered in the first batch of our homemade cookie-dough, I shut the oven door before setting the timer. Looking back over at Ruby, I see that she's already hard at work at making our next batch. Somewhat hilariously, I see that she still has some flour stuck in her hair as she tilts her head slightly as she hums a familier tune.

 _'What is that? I know I've heard that some-'_

Finally my brain clicks and I grin like an idiot.

' _This Will Be The Day'... she is litterally humming her own theme. I can't even.'_

Smiling, I lean against the nearby counter. "You know, I think I have that song on my laptop."

Ruby looks pleasantly surprised. "Really?" I nod and she grins. "It's my favorite song right now! When it first came out, Yang had to hide my scroll because I kept playing it non-stop."

"Really? Where'd she hide it?"

Ruby shrugs. "I dunno. I made Zwei go get it!"

 _'Oh my god I forgot the Puppy! Oh my god yes! Cute little adorable Zwei!'_

Out loud I say. "Who's Zwei?"

Ruby gives me a wide smile and I swear her eyes twinkle. "Zwei is the cutest little dog in the world! He's so smart a cute and-"

She's cut off when I hear _'This Will Be The Day'_ playing out loud. I'm confused for a sec before Ruby unzips what looks like a small previously hidden pocket on the side of her gothic looking skirt and pulls out her scroll. She gasps really loudly with a happy smile, dropping the spoon in the bowl. She swipes the screen holding it in front of her.

"UNCLE QROW!" She practically yells. Despite the ear pain, I smile before moving over to fish the dropped spoon out of the mixture.

"Hey kiddo." The voice of one Qrow Branwen comes through the scrolls speakers. Looking up from the bowl, I'm surprised to see his face displayed on the screen. "How've you been enjoying Beacon?"

 _'Oh cool, Remnant Skype.'_ Looking back down at the mixture I star to stir once again. _'Just a bit more, then I can move this to a sheet.'_ Looking back up from the mixture, I look back at the video feed of Qrow as they catch up.

Ruby finishes whatever she was saying with a smile. Qrow laughs. "Glad to hear it kiddo." There's a pause. Trying not to watch the call like a creeper, I move to get another baking sheet. "You have flour in your hair."

Ruby turns her gaze on me with a slight glare. It honestly isn't that threatening. "I thought you said I got it all!"

I raise my hands in defense. "Hey, at the time I thought you did!" Baking sheet now in hand, I place it down next to the bowl and start setting up our next batch of cookies.

"Who's that?" Qrow's voice says from the scroll.

Ruby's smile widens, showing she wasn't really mad anyway. "Oh! That's Toby! He's one of my new friends."

"... That wouldn't happen to be Toby Lawliet would it?"

I raise an eyebrow. _'Why the hell does Qrow know about me of all people? I should be WAY off his radar... at least until Volume 3.'_

Ruby gives me a confused look and I shrug. Looking back to her Uncle, she responds. "Um... yeah? Wanna meet him?"

 _'For some reason, I feel like Ruby just pushed me in front of an oncoming bus.'_

 _ **END**_


	10. Chapter 10

_This chapter might be a huge AU seperation from the main show (backstory wise.). So slight warning for that. I honestly did not enjoy writing this one, but I kinda need to get this out of the way so I can move on with the story. I don't THINK it's bad? But it did take me a year to write this damn thing. I got busy at work. Lost a family member, lost a house and then lost a job so... I've been living a soap opera for the past several monthes, But, hopefully I can be more consistant now. Thank You all for waiting and I'm sorry this took so long. I don't think there are any continuity errors but, feel free to flame me if there are. I did spend about a whole year on this so yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. -chrisreader_

 _ **Chapter Ten**_

 **Beryl**

The voice chuckles within my head. _**"This should be interesting...'**_

"Yeah, I do." Qrow says in a gruff tone. Though that might just be Qrow's default tone of voice.

Ruby nods, turning the scroll slightly so that I'm now in his field of view. Grabbing a paper towel, I wipe my hands clean while Qrow looks between Ruby and I.

"Holy shit." He says before slowly unscrewing the cap off his flask and taking a long drink. I raise an eyebrow and look at Ruby. She shrugs fondly in response . After several seconds, he continues. "Oz was right, you do look like my niece."

 _'Oh great...'_

 _ **'It seems the wizard has been busy.'**_

I scratch my head. "Yeah, I've been getting that alot lately."

Ruby smiles. "We do look alot alike don't we?"

I stare blankly at Ruby as the voice chuckles. "And here I thought you were one of the few people who hadn't noticed that." I mutter before looking back at Qrow, I smile. "Well anyway. It's nice to meet you."

Qrow nods. "Likewise." He folds his arms. "Yang... called me about you." He leaves that in the air. ."

 _'Of fucking course this is about that.'_

Ruby tilts her head. "Yang called?" She glances at me.

"Yeah." I rub my neck uncomfortably. "Yang walked into my bathroom without knocking and saw some huge scars on my back. I don't know how I got 'em but... they seemed to freak her out a bit." I'm silent for a second.

"Yang did what?!" Ruby pipes up.

"Is she okay?" I ask, ignoring Ruby. I send her an apologetic glance.

"Yang's fine." Qrow says and I actually let out a sigh of relief. "She did however, insist that I meet you and... now I think I see why." He takes another drink. "You're gonna want to sit down kids, this might take awhile."

Ruby and I share a glance, before we both grab nearby stools and sit as instructed.

Qrow sighs before going silent for several seconds, most likely gathering his thoughts. After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence Qrow finally speaks up. "God this is gonna be awkward ..." He sighs. "If you remember Ruby, you used to have a twin brother."

Ruby nods with a sad smile. "I don't remember him very much though... Yang mentioned once that we used to be attached at the hip."

Qrow snorts. "That's an understatement, we couldn't even put you in seperate cribs without you both screaming like the world was ending." He sighs again. "Back when... well you know when-" He sends Ruby a meaningful look. "-Yang managed to find something, a clue she thought might lead her to her mother." He pauses with a grimace. "She waited for Tai to leave the house and packed you both in a wagon-"

 _'...Son of a bitch.'_

 _ **'This sounds familiar does it not?'**_ If at all possible, I think I feel the voice smile. **_'You should know most of this story by now. Volume 2... if your memories are to be believed?'_**

I blink in surprise. _'How do you-?'_

Hearing Qrow still talking, I try to tune back in.

"-Anyway, as you know, that damned shack was nothing but trouble. You were attacked by a pack of Beowolves and... well..." He looks down to his flask. "I wasn't able to save all of you. By the time I showed up... Beryl was already being dragged off in the jaws of an Alpha. I tried to find him but... well..." He looked back up, he looked tired. "Anyways, I got you and Yang home and tried to calm down Tai but... he didn't take the news well as expected. Some words were said... things that couldn't really be taken back, and... well Yang hasn't quite forgiven herself for it all."

"Okay..." Ruby says after a moment of silence. "What does this have to do with Toby?"

Qrow turnes his gaze to me specifically. "Silver eyes ain't exactly a common trait. As for the rest... it should be obvious."

I feel Ruby turning her gaze on me. Glancing over, I pause. She glances at me with wide searching eyes. She keeps staring and I find myself getting uncomfortable, I turn my gaze back to the image of Qrow. They are both staring at me.

Finally Qrow speaks. "I think you just found your family kid."

I blink again. Not from shock obviously, but...

 _'How the hell am I supposed to react to this?'_

I feel myself pulled into a bone crushing hug by Ruby, who's smiling wildly. "My twin is alive!" She lets out a sound that falls somewhere between a screech and cheer. It might of been endearing, if I wasn't currently getting the oxygen crushed out of me.

 _'How the hell is she doing this with only one free arm?!'_

"Ruby... air!" I manage to force out before the squeezing intensified.

I hear Qrow sigh. "Ruby, please don't re-kill your brother..."

She gasps, letting me go. I quickly take in a gasp of air. "Sorry!" She says quickly. She hops in her seat excitedly. "Oh! I need to tell Yang! And Dad! He's gonna flip!"

 _'...Why do I suddenly feel so... guilty?'_

 _..._

 _'...Beryl huh?'_

Suddenly and without warning, Ruby dashes out of the room; scroll in hand. I shout in surpise as the stool she had been sitting in falls to the floor with a loud bang. Not even two whole seconds pass before I hear a familiar shout of surprise and I hear Ruby shout from down the hallway. "Sorry Pyrrha!"

I blink. Looking up, I see Pyrrha walking into the lounge with a confused expression. Seeing me, she smiles and waves. "Hello again!" She greets happily.

Hearing that familar sound gets me to crack a smile. "Hey." I wave back. "What brings you here?"

"I'm afraid breakfast didn't last." She glances back. "Where was Ruby headed off to in such a hurry?"

I grimace before I can stop myself. "Well-"

A loud ding sounds through the room as I numbly stare at the source of the noise. _'Oh... cookies are done...'_

Wordlessly, I stand up and make my way over. Grabbing a plate I'd kept nearby as well as a spatula, I fished out the dozen or so chocolate chip cookies and tossed them on the plate. I move them over to the main island.

"You made cookies?"

I shake my head absent-mindedly. "Sorta, Ruby wanted to make us all cookies to celebrate our first week here. She didn't really know how though, so I offered to help." I glance back up at her. "She went to find Yang."

Pyrrha nods and I silently make my way to the mixture I had left unattended. I continue to stir as Pyrrha makes her way to what I assume is the fridge or pantry.

 _'I know I saw this dumbass sub-plot coming a mile away but...'_

 _..._

 _'Whatever... Cookies. I need to make cookies.'_

"Are you... alright?"

I look up and see Pyrrha standing in front of me across the island table,her green eyes filled with concern.

I blink. "Yes... Maybe? I don't know."

Pyrrha picks up the fallen stool before sitting down. "What's wrong?"

"You remember my amnesia thing?" She nods and I sigh. "I uh... found my lost family; turns out I'm Ruby's twin brother."

She smiles brightly. "That's great!" I try to smile in return but I think I only manage a grimace. Her smile falls. "Isn't it?"

 _'My sudden guilt says otherwise...'_

I sigh again. "It feels... wrong."

She raises an eyebrow. "How so?"

 _'Maybe because I'm not Beryl? Hell I'm not even really Toby... I'm just... me. Not some long lost brother; stupid fucking sub-plot or no...'_

 _ **'Your memory is flawed boy.'**_ He chuckles. **_'How does one live in a world without being born into it?'_**

 _'I don't fucking know, fanfic bullshit.'_

"Toby?" Pyrrha's voice returns me to the present. I shake my head.

"It's just... what if they're wrong?"

She gives me a soft smile. "And what if they're not? You have the chance to have a family."

I look back down to the cookie dough. _'I already have a family...'_

 _..._

 _'I need off this conversation.'_

I look back up. "Excuse the change of subject, but I have a question."

Pyrrha blinks. "Yes?"

I look back down at the cookie dough. "To tell you the truth this has been on my mind the whole time I've been cooking these... and I'm not sure there's a way to ask this tactfully but..." I point to the cookies. "I'd rather not kill my partner and I heard that dogs can't eat chocolate so... can a dog faunus safely eat chocolate? I mean he was eating a chocolate bar earlier but..."

Pyrrha still wears her soft smile. "I don't believe he should suffer any ill effects."

"Good." I start to scoop out the finished cookie dough and put down another dozon before setting it in the oven and setting the timer. Hearing movement, I see Pyrrha grabbing my previously forgotten bag of grapes and pulling out a...

...

It occurs to me that I don't know what to call... whatever that thing the grapes are attached to.

 _'Is it like... a small vine or...?'_

...

 _'I think it's just grapevine... Isn't it?'_

I blink. _'Why do I even care?'_ Shaking my head, I return to my bowl of mixture as Pyrrha returns to her seat with a bowl of grapes. I blink in slight surprise.

She gives a smile as she picks up a grape. "So, how are you enjoying your first week at Beacon?"

I shrug slightly while I stir. "Good I guess? I think I might have finally gotten used to the constant soreness. I barely notice it now. Although..."

I pause as I remember the little "Pop Quiz" that Dr. Oobleck hit us with yesterday. Turns out that while I may know a shitload of lore from the few bits of the show I had seen ;which was roughly about two seasons worth. And several from fanfics I used to read which... may have been very undependable now that I think about it... It showed me just how little I actually KNOW about the world of Remnant.

 _'Regardless... I was woefully unprepaired for that shit.'_

I clear my throat. "I think the whole... amnesia thing." I surpress a wince as my shit ass lies yet again. "Might of had a severely negative effect on my normalish grades. So... I might have to deal with that later down the line."

Pyrrha nods in understanding before giving me a soft smile. "I suppose that would be understandable. If you would like, I could help you review the material until you no longer need to."

I feel a very strong bout of silent excitement. Other then Weiss, I'm pretty sure Pyrrha would be the best person I could hope for to help me out with school related crap.

I send her a happy smile. "If it's not too much trouble than yes please! It would honestly be a lifesav-" Suddenly I hear my scroll going off as the default beeping sound blasts. I send an apologetic glance towards my future tutor as I pull out said device. Looking down, I see it's my partner, I press the answer icon before putting it to my head.

'Hello? What's up?" I immediately hear a... shrill sound of... screaming?

" **Hello Toby. Are you in the know as to why Ruby just sped into, as well as broke, her dormroom door?"**

I pause. "She what!?"

I imagine him nod as he continues. **"Yes. She did not seem to feel the need to stop. She is fine but... Weiss is very unhappy."**

Arnold lets that hang in the air as the shrill sound seemingly gets closer. "That's Weiss!?" I exclaim before making eye contact with Pyrrha who sends me a puzzled look.

The shrill sound gets ever closer and I imagine my partner wincing. **"Indeed. I feel I should warn you. Ruby is... very excited about whatever it is you seemingly did and... well. Everyone is talking and shouting over one another so... What happened?"**

I blink. "Um... We got a phone call from her Uncle Qrow and-"

Suddenly I hear the sound of death screaming on the other end. **"You!"** __I wince as well as Pyrrha who sends me a slightly alarmed look.

I hear a horrified whimper from my teammate. **"The beast approaches..."**

 **"Is that Toby! Give it here!"**

I hear a very startled squeek of "Yes ma'am" before I hear the scroll exchanging hands. **"You!"**

I wince again. "Me." I respond. "And could you not shout in my eardrum? I can hear you just fine."

I hear Weiss huff before she continues... slightly quieter than before. Not by much but... **"What did you do?!"**

I hear what sounds like... Ruby in the background. _ **"Weeeeeiiiiissssss. Beryl didn't do anything! If you would all just listen!"**_

Weiss shouts back as I move the scroll a bit away from my head to save my poor eardrums. **"Well we've been trying! Maybe now that everyone has calmed down-"** __I snort. **"-Shut up you! Anyways! Ruby! Why did you break our door?"** She pauses. **"And why did you jus** **t** **refer to Toby as... Barrel was it?"**

I hear a soft gasping like sound from... someone.

Several seconds pass before I hear Ruby." **The door was an... oopsie? I was just excited to tell Yang that... well... Toby is our long lost brother! His real name is Beryl! Like the gemstone! For some reason I ?I'mnotsurebut** _ **-"**_

 **"Ruby! You're getting overexcited again! We can barely understand you when you do that! And did you say Bro-"**

The line goes silent as I hear... sniffles? I am only confused for about a milisecond when the obvious dawns on me and I feel another sudden rush of guilt.

 **"Yang? Are you... alright?"**

 **"I-I'm fine. I need the scroll."**

 **"Are you sure? You-"**

 **"I'm fine!..."** I hear her voice say forcefully if somewhat shakely. _**"**_ **I just... need to talk to my baby brother..."**

There is a pause before Weiss continues... In a surprisingly gentle voice. **"Alright... Toby. I'm giving Yang the scroll. We're all headed to you. This sounds like a situation that should be handled in person!** **And Ruby, you might want to call your Uncle. Considering you ended that call by breaking our door."**

 **"Crapbaskets!"**

I hear the scroll exchanging hands. A couple moments pass...

 **"...Beryl?"**

 _'Good job asshole. You made Yang cry...'_

"I... guess?" I say lamely. "Are you okay?"

 _'Are you stupid?! Of course she's not okay! What kinda dumb fuckass question is that?'_

 **"I'm... fine. But... you. I- I saw you get..."** I hear Yang sniffle a bit before she starts to sobbing. **"I'm so s-sorry!"** The line then breaks into almost uncontrolable sobs as I hear... Blake?... start to try to calm her down.

 _'...I feel like the biggest...'_

I hear that voice pipe up in my head. _**"I would advise you to silence that overthinking brain of yours. Forget your ridiculous conspiracy theories and needless guilt for I grow tired of both. A word of advise? This girl WILL be affected dearly by whatever you deign to say now. I advise that you finally acknowledge your place here and respond in kind."**_

 _'...What the hell do you mean by that? Are you talking about this bullshit brother sub-'_

 _ **"Despite how amusing it would be to hear you finish your deluded beliefs; It would be best if you accepted the following as fact. Know that I placed your soul here as your old body perished. This is where you where reborn and I will one day have need of you, despite the possible... side effects of sharing this brain space. Regardless, it would be smoother in the long run if you fixed this. We will need many allies if you are to survive here."**_

I sit in silence for a second as I try to sort my brain through everything he said. _'Wha-"_

 _ **"Fix your sister you dense boy. I will answer your questions some other time."**_ I feel the presence in my head recede.

'...'

Tuning back to reality, I see Pyrrha giving me a... rather puzzled look. And I feel my... Aura draining?

 _'Son of a... I must of been using my Semblance through that whole convo... Anyways... Yang.'_

Based on the sounds of sniffles and sobs receding, I imagine that means I've only missed out on a couple of seconds. "Yang. You still there?"

 **"Y-yeah. I'm okay. Just... needed a minute."**

I nod for... my own benefit I guess. "It's okay. Listen Yang I... honestly don't know what to say. Like at all. But, I don't blame you. For anything."

 **"But if I hadn't..."** She trails off with a few sniffles before whispering. **"I... I thought I saw you die! You've been away from home for years! And now you... you.."** She trails off into a mix of a whimper and whisper. **"You would hate me if you could remember..."**

I clear my throat. "Well... based on what Qrow said... Amnesia aside, I think I might of been to young but... that's beside the point. I'm not mad whatsoever just..." I sigh. "I think Weiss is right. I think this is something that would be better dealt with if we were all together. Um... how close are you?"

 **"Just three more sets of stairs."**

I nod."Okay. We'll hold off on this until you guys get here... okay?"

 **"A-alright. Um... Arnold?"** I hear a pause. **"Here's your scroll back. Sorry."**

 **"It's quite alright."**

Sounds of exchanging hands and then... a click.

 _'Well... that was kinda rude... Though I guess they ARE on the way...'_

 _'...'_

 _'Um... cookies. I should probably hide the cookies.'_

Wordlessly, I search the nearby cabinets for some plastic wrap. Finding it almost instantly,I make my way to the kitchens main island and begin to wrap the first plate out of the four plates of cookies already made. After a moment, I blink as I see Pyrrha beginning to help me.

"...Thanks." I saw quietly.

She gives me another soft smile before it slips away, replaced by concern once again. "Do you need to talk?"

I'm silent as we finish wrapping the plates. Moving them back to the counter near the fridge, I open a cabinet that I had previously found empty. Hideing them there and turning back, I grab the mixture from the island and then store it in the fridge.

Then I found myself with nothing else to do... So I took a a calming breath before facing my worried companion.

"Honestly? I wouldn't even know what to say. I don't really know how I feel let alone my..." I pause. "Family?"

The word feels wrong coming out of my mouth.

'...'

"Pyrrha?"

"Yes?"

I take a seat at the island before rest my head in my hands. Sighing I look back up. "Let's say you remember another family... Maybe an adopted one." _'Fucking bullshit.'_ "Is it wrong to say I don't feel... That is to say..." I groan in annoyance. "What am I supposed to feel here?

Pyrrha takes a seat next to me. I feel her lay a hand on on my shoulder as she speaks. "I can't say I would know... But what do you feel?

"...Upset? Confused?"

"And why is that?"

I sigh. "Because I feel like I already have a family."

Turning my head, I see Pyrrha nod before she speaks. "I guessing this is why you changed the subject earlier. Do you remember much of them? Where are they?"

"I remember... lots. But they're... gone." _'More like I"M gone...'_

Pyrrha's eyes fill with sympathy. "I'm sorry."

Several moments pass before she continues. "If it helps..." She says tentatively. "I'm sure your adopted family would be happy for you and I'm sure that wherever they are, they know how much you love them. Nothing that happens today or in the future will change that."

Glancing back a Pyrrha, she sends me a small smile.

 _'She... does have a point. But still...'_

 _'..'_

 _'But even still... I'm not Beryl.'_

Just at that moment, I hear footsteps approaching. Looking up, I see all of Team RWBY as well as... Ren, Nora and Jaune.

 _'Great. The whole gang is here.'_ I fight back a bout of annoyance. _'How fucking great. Just pile it on, I can take it.'_

I see Arnold and Blake giving me a sympathetic glance as my... Semblance activates? Goddamnit. I click it off... Ot not. I close my eyes and take several calming breaths. Then it clicks off. I open my eyes again.

"So..." I say awkwardly. "This is gonna be wierd for pretty much everyone involved so..." I stand up from my chair and gesture to the lounge area the kitchen itself is attached to. "The upside is there's like... nobody here so... I guess we just find a seat?"

Most of everyone nods but... Yang makes her way to me and stops in front of me. She looks... tired... and almost... afraid. She lifts a hand and touches the side of my face. A moment passes before hesitently, she retracts her hand.

Suddenly, Pyrrha speaks up. "I think the rest of us should make our way back to our dorms. Give them a minute to themselves?"

Suddenly Nora pipes up. "Whaaat? But we walked sooo far!"

Ren thankfully grabs her shoulders and semi-gently, guides her to the door. I can't hear what he says to her but whatever it is makes her deflate and nod. Soon all that remained where Arnold and Team RWBY. Blake, Weiss and my Partner exchange a glance before Weiss clears her throat. "We should... go as well. If you need us just call." My partner and Blake nod in agreement.

...

An now, it was just Ruby, Yang and me... Beryl Rose...

Supposedly.

 _'... Can this Saturday be over yet.'_

Looking away from Yang, I see my... twin I suppose, sending our... big sister... a worried glance.

 _'Compared to Yang, Ruby doesn't seem nearly as upset about this whole thing. Makes sense I guess. I have enough stress for the both of us...'_

Glancing back at Yang, I notice that she hasn't taken her eyes off me. "I saw you die..." She whispers as her gaze falls to the floor. I watch as her hair falls in front of her face. "For so long I thought I had killed you... Even Dad said..." She pauses as she starts to sniffle again.

Ruby approaches her big sister with an empathetic frown. She grabs Yangs hand with a comforting squeeze. "Yang..." A moment passes before she glance my way, an expectant look in her eyes.

 _'What are you expecting ME to do? I have NO idea what to do in this situation!'_

The presence in my mind worms it's way back to the forefront of my thoughts.

 _ **"I would advise you to comfort the girl. If not for her sake or your own, then for the future. As she is now, she carries a baggage unseen in your so called "show". If she continues as she is now, she will be no use to us when the time comes..."**_

 _'Well... your certainly an asshole.'_

I surpress a wince as my brain suddenly flairs in an awful headache... that dissapears as quickly as it had come.

 _ **"Be mindful who you insult boy. I have said my piece... I suggest you consider your next action carefully..."**_

My head begins to clear and I am alone in my brainspace once more. In the present, Ruby looks away in... dissapointment? Yang I notice hasn't moved at all as she cries silently.

 _'... Am I really going to let my sis-... Yang feel bad about herself because I can't get my shit together?'_

I sigh silently as I step closer. I shut my eyes before taking a breath. _'Ignoring everything else... I guess... I am Beryl. Even if I'm not. Not really.'_

Wordlessly, I move myself closer the duo before, with the help of a softly smiling Ruby who semms to get the idea, pulling us all into a gentle hug. Yang looks up at both of us and sniffles, but she gives us both a small smile.

I try to smile back but I don't think I match Ruby in the happy factor. Despite this, it seems to make Yang finally calm a bit.

"Sorry." She says as we break apart the hug and she wipes her eyes. "It's just..." She shakes her head before clearing her throat. "I shouldn't be crying right now! We should be celebrating!" She looks around the kitchen. "Where's the cookies?"

Ruby's eyes widen as I blink silently. "What cookies?" She says in a too innocent tone.

Yang sends her sister a mischievous smile. "You're not very good at secret keeping little sister. Plus, the room smells like cookies... and also you have flour in your hair."

Ruby blinks before groaning and furiouslt brushing her hands through her hair. "Damnit..." she whispers.

My eyes widen as does Yang's. _'Great... I've corrupted Ruby. Good going me.'_

Yang slowly turns her gaze to me and folds her arms. She sends me an inquisitive eyebrow. "And where I wonder did my baby sister pick up such lauguage?"

 _'...I plead the fifth...'_

Though Yang doesn't seem like she's gonna accept silence. At least now Ruby is sending me an apologetic smile as she, for the second time today, has thrown me in front of the metaphorical bus.

 _'...'_

I blink. "Um... Most likely me. Because apparently despite everything I'm a potty mouth?"

"Mmhmm." Yang responds with a shake of her head. "Makes sense." She suddenly glances back to Ruby. "You. Don't use that word in class, around teachers, Dad or Uncle Qrow. Got it?"

Ruby smiles wildly before doing a fake salute. "Yes ma'am!"

"And you!" Yang gives me a warning glare that instantly morphs into a soft smile. "Just... try not to curse so much around teachers. You tend to do that."

"I don't-" Her eyebrow raises once again. " Well I do around Professor Oz-" I pause. "Damn, your right."

Yang shakes her head with a mock sigh. She puts an arm on my shoulder before speaking in mock sadness. "Alas, I am afraid you are too long gone dear brother. Forever cursed to speak in such foul language."

I shrug. "I blame my..." I supress a wince. "Nope. No excuse. I got nothing."

I surpress a relieved sigh when Yang laughs before patting my shoulder and moving to Ruby, demanding cookies.

 _'Very nearly blamed my potty mouth on Mom. Gotta watch that shit.'_

"No cookies Yang! They're for everyone! Plus I don't know where they are!"

Yang sends me a questioning glance. I shake my head. "Nope not telling, plus..." I pull out my scroll. "...It's like five minutes till lunch so. Let's go eat, and celebrate later. We should just tell everyone to leave some room for later."

"Or..." She sends us both a winning smile. "We could take some with us. Start early?"

Ruby groans. "You're not gonna stop trying until we say yes are you?"

"Nope!"

Ruby groans but has a smile on her face. "Fine."

Moving over to the cookie cabinet, I open it and pull out a a plate. "Here. We have a dozen per plate, so one _should_ do the trick."

Both Ruby and Yang blink at me. "Nora." They both say at the same time. I blink in response... before grabbing another plate.

"Good point." I say. "Though I think we only just _barely_ have enough for Ruby and Nora."

A moment passes while me and Yang share a smile. Ruby nods before slowly stopping and glaring at me.

"Oh ha ha. Very funny." She sticks her tongue out at me before grumbling with a smile. "First day with my twin back and already regreting it."

"Get used to it Little Red." I say with a smile as I make my way towards the hallway leading out.. "I think you're gonna have to get used to me."

We spend the next several minutes teasing each other until we meet up with the rest of our friends. And of coarse, they in turn get in on the teasing. The attention now off me, I surpress a sigh.

 _'I hope this doesn't blow up in anyone's face. The fact is that I'm just some random lying asshole that somehow woke up in a fictional story... I am NOT Beryl. Hell... I'm not even Toby.'_

I'm pulled out of my musings when, Weiss of all people, gives me a look that looks suspiciously like concern... despite the fact the look came from Weiss of all people. I smile in response... and she immediately looks unhappy with my response. She doesn't say anything though, she just bites her lip. I do get a look that probably means we'll be talking later.

 _'Great. Weiss sees past the bullshit.'_

I glance at all of my friends and... family as we make out way into the schools cafeteria.

 _'I hope I haven't made a horrible mistake.'_

 _ **"You haven't... All that remains is to enjoy yourself. We will speak tonight, and I will explain why your amusing worries are unfounded."**_ The voice pauses. **_"Though it may take awhile. You have not shown yourself to be the most quick witted of individuals._**

The voice once again leaves.

 _'Whatever asshole...'_ I sigh. _'Well... At least I have that to look foreward to...'_

 _ **END OF CHAPTER**_


End file.
